Washington, Aug 11 (TIWN) The White House has said it is exploring ways to support schools in Florida that are facing financial retribution as a result of defying the state's ban on mask mandates.

Psaki's remarks on Tuesday followed days of controversy during which Florida Governor Ron DeSantis threatened to withhold the salaries of those school leaders who defied the governor's earlier executive order banning school districts from issuing mask mandates at a time when students in the state are returning to schools for the fall semester, Xinhua reported.  "We are continuing to look for ways... for the US government to support districts and schools as they try to follow the science, do the right thing and save lives," Psaki said.  "I would note what is publicly available and knowable is that the American Rescue Plan funds that were distributed to Florida to provide assistance to schools have not yet been distributed from the state level," she said. "They're federal funds and... they're under federal discretion, so they just need to be distributed to these schools."