The Florida Board of Education passed a rule Friday allowing parents in the state to skirt mask mandates that districts may enforce for their children.

       The rule, passed unanimously at an emergency meeting, lets parents transfer their kids to a private school or another district if they experience “COVID-19 harassment,” including mask requirements.

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       According to the rule, these students would qualify for a Hope Scholarship, an existing program created to protect children who are bullied, assaulted, harassed or threatened, in school.

       Octavio Jones/Getty Images, FILE

       Families protest any potential mask mandates before the Hillsborough County Schools Board meeting held at the district office in Tampa, Fla., July 27, 2021.

       The rule was in response to an executive order issued last week by Gov. Ron DeSantis, which directed the state departments of education and health to enact measures to protect “parents’ rights ... to make health care decisions for their minor children.”

       Multiple districts this week defied the governor’s order by issuing mask mandates for their students, including Alachua County, whose schools have experienced a surge of cases of COVID-19 among staff, including two recent deaths from the virus.

       Brad McClenny/The Gainesville Sun via USA Today Network

       Parents with the Education Advocates of Alachua County take part in a rally to show support that kids should be required to wear face coverings in Alachua County Schools this year, outside the Alachua County Administration Building, in Gainesville, Fla., Aug. 3, 2021.

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       Leonetta McNealy, the chair of the Alachua County School Board, who told ABC News Thursday that the executive order was “appalling and absurd,” said Friday in a text message that the district will now allow parents to opt out of wearing masks by using the Hope Scholarship.

       Miami Herald/TNS via Getty Images, FILE

       Students return to school in Westview, Fla., Oct. 5, 2020.

       The debate around mask requirements comes as the delta variant of the coronavirus wreaks havoc in Florida.

       On Thursday, the Florida Hospital Association reported 12,500 patients were hospitalized with COVID-19, marking a new pandemic high. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the state is now reporting 17,000 new cases per day.