Judge Sides With Parents Against Gov. DeSantis

Miami FL

26 August, 2021

9:47 AM

Description

A Miami Times Staff Report Aug 24, 2021 In the first volley against Gov. Ron DeSantis, parents win the first round in court. A Florida judge refused to dismiss a lawsuit by parents that seeks to strike down the governor's anti-mask policy. The order by Leon County Circuit Judge John C. Cooper cleared the way for a three-day hearing that began Monday on whether to block enforcement of the governor's order. The lawsuit was filed Aug. 6 by parents opposed to the DeSantis order banning schools from imposing mask mandates unless parents can opt out of the requirements. Cooper decided the parents have a legal right to sue, overruling the state's position. "I do believe they have a right to challenge the governor," the judge said after a three-hour hearing last week. "I'm not deciding whether they are right or wrong. We'll have to see what the evidence shows." Five Florida school districts – including four of the largest – are defying the governor's order by permitting mask opt-outs only for medical reasons rather than parental choice. An attorney in the lawsuit, Charles Gallagher, said such decisions should be left to local school boards, not imposed by the state. "They have a right to govern themselves. They can enact their own policies," Gallagher said. In their failed motion to dismiss, attorneys for the Republican governor and state education officials contended that the parents have no legal standing to sue in a matter between DeSantis and the 67 Florida school boards. "This case should be tried and a record made," the judge said. On Monday, attorneys for a group of parents began calling witnesses whose arguments were geared primarily toward proving the delta variant of the coronavirus is a more potent enemy than previous variants. The lawsuit, in part, alleges that the executive order violates a section of the state Constitution that requires providing a "uniform, efficient, safe, secure and high quality system" of public schools. "Because of the delta variant, our public schools are not safe and secure at this time unless everyone wears a mask," Charles Dodson, a former judge who is representing the parents, said during an opening statement. DeSantis, Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran, the Florida Department of Education and the State Board of Education are named as defendants in the lawsuit. The plaintiffs' lawyers called on Thomas Unnasch, a University of South Florida professor who specializes in disease control, to reinforce the argument that the delta variant increases the need for students to wear masks in classrooms. "This does appear to be a more pathogenic virus that's causing more illness in children in all age groups than the variants that we've previously seen," he said during questioning by the plaintiffs' attorneys. Unnasch called into question a Brown University study cited in DeSantis' executive order. The study was used as a basis for the order asserting there is no "well-grounded scientific justification" for forcing children to wear masks. "The Brown University study, no, would not have reference to any data relevant to the delta variant. It was conducted in the spring of this year … during the (2020-2021) school year, spring semester. It wouldn't have included anything with the delta variant, which really took off late June, early July," he said. Daniel Bean, an attorney representing the state, questioned Unnasch about "different opinions among experts in the medical field, regarding the efficacy of mask wearing among students" and the transmission of COVID-19. Dodson, in his introductory remarks to the court, called DeSantis' order "arbitrary and capricious" and said his clients seek only to allow local control by school boards. "We are not asking the governor to mandate masks, but only that he allow local school boards to do so without punishment, should they so choose," Dodson said. The plaintiffs' attorneys also hoped the testimony of parents would help sway Cooper. "You are going to hear these parents' valid concerns for the safety of their children while in school, while this delta variant is rampant," said Dodson. Michael Abel, an attorney representing the state, said witness Jay Bhattacharya, a professor of medicine at Stanford University who has participated in press events hosted by DeSantis, will argue that there is "ample evidence" of physical and developmental harm to children from wearing masks. The state's lawyers also intend to use testimony from parents who oppose mask mandates. "Like the plaintiff families, these are parents who care equally about promoting the best interests of their children," Abel said. While the debate over whether to require students to wear masks plays out in court, Miami-Dade and Broward schools, among many others, have rebelled against the state and mandated masks, with exceptions only for students with doctors' notes. State Board Chairman Tom Grady and Vice Chairman Ben Gibson signed orders Friday that threatened to withhold district funds in amounts equal to the collective monthly salaries of school board members if the districts did not change course. In a written response to the board Sunday, Alachua County Superintendent Carlee Simon held firm to the district's mask policy, which she said is part of an "obligation" that the district provide safe schools. The Broward district is also poised to keep its mask policy, issuing a response to Corcoran on Tuesday requesting that the board's order be rescinded and that the state does not have the power to prevent school districts from imposing mask mandates. Sources for this report were gathered from The Associated Press and The News Service of Florida. The Miami Times is the largest Black-owned newspaper in the south serving Miami's Black community since 1923. The award-winning weekly is frequently recognized as the best Black newspaper in the country by the National Newspaper Publishers Association.