CLAY COUNTY – Congresswoman Kat Cammack (R-District 3) introduced the "Keep Kids in Schools Act of 2022" on Tuesday, the House companion to Senator Rubio’s bill in the U.S. Senate.
The bill would prohibit around $164 billion in unspent COVID relief funds from going to elementary and secondary schools that do not offer in-person instruction on a full-time basis for all enrolled students. The legislation would include an exception for schools that cannot provide in-person instruction due to personnel shortages in following the CDC’s quarantine and isolation guidelines.

"Our students deserve and need to be in school. After more than a year of on-and-off virtual and in-person education, it is no longer acceptable to keep students out of the classroom, forcing them to miss out on important milestones for their academic and social development,” Cammack said. "In Florida, we've been fortunate to have Gov. DeSantis leading the way and pushing for in-person instruction, and I'm pleased to join Rubio in this important effort to get our kids back in the classroom."

"Students have already lost a year or more of in-person instruction, and the impacts on their well-being have been catastrophic," said Rubio. "Taxpayer dollars should not go to schools that cave to the ridiculous calls from teachers’ unions and their progressive allies to stay home. [This] bill is commonsense – if a school keeps students out of the classroom, it won’t receive any unspent federal relief funding. Nearly everyone in America agrees that our kids need to be in school."

Rubio introduced the Senate version of the bill on Jan. 10. U.S. House cosponsors for the bill at the time of introduction include Reps. Neal Dunn, Brian Mast, John Rutherford and Mike Waltz.

Florida District 3 includes all of Clay, Alachua, Putnam, Bradford and Union counties, as well as a portion of Marion County.