DeSantis Vows To Fight On As Judge's Mask Decision Is Celebrated

Miami FL

01 September, 2021

2:53 PM

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By Bianca Marcof, the Miami Times Aug 31, 2021 In a blow for Gov. Ron DeSantis and a win for local school officials and parents, a judge in Florida's 2nd Circuit Court blocked DeSantis' mask mandate ban. "I am as happy as one could be," cheered Dorothy Bendross-Mindingall, Miami-Dade County District 2 school board member, one of six to vote for the mandate last month. "You've got to stand for children and that's what we did. I didn't even second guess my vote." In a Zoom meeting Friday, Leon County Judge John Cooper ruled against Gov. Ron DeSantis' mask mandate ban. (YouTube) During a virtual hearing Friday, Leon County Judge John C. Cooper ruled that DeSantis overstepped his authority when he signed his executive order, siding with parents from Alachua, Hillsborough, Orange, Palm Beach and Pinellas counties who claimed in a lawsuit that the governor's ban on mandates is unconstitutional. Bendross-Mindingall commends the parents behind the lawsuit for fighting with one important goal in mind – keeping children safe. "These wonderful guardians that we call parents stood their ground for children, for all children really," she said. "Their message was one that said, 'If anyone is going to save my child, I'm going to save my child.'" The Miami-Dade County School Board met in August to vote 7-1 in favor of a mask mandate. (WLRN.com) Steve Gallon III, board chair, during an M-DCPS school board meeting on Aug. 18. (WLRN.com) The mask mandate, which stemmed from M-DCPS board agenda item H-17, was proposed by Steve Gallon III, vice chair of the board. He said the ruling affirmed what he stood for since the beginning – deciding what was in the best interest of the district's employees and students. "This is a strong initial affirmation that Miami-Dade and the other 10 districts across the state that did not necessarily do what has been characterized as defying the law, actually followed the law," he said. DeSantis addressed the judge's decision in a news conference Monday in Jacksonville, stating that the judge's ruling is "obviously problematic" and that he plans to challenge it. Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida banned mask mandates in schools. (Marta Lavandier/AP Photo) "I think we're going to have really good grounds to appeal," he said. "At the end of the day, ultimately we're just trying to stand with the parents. We think it's important they be given the ability to opt out." On the contrary, local parents at Brownsville Middle School said they have no issues with the district's original decision on masks and can now breathe sighs of relief with the judge's ruling. "I'm with the masks. They need the masks," said one parent, Brittany Robinson. "[My second grade son] can't even get vaccinated and I'm like, how is he supposed to go to school with just a mask? He had a year and a half in the house with me. He was happy when he went back to school." United Teachers of Dade President Karla Hernández-Mats said she was glad Cooper "called it by what it is – unconstitutional." The union has been outspoken against DeSantis' executive order, especially with Florida being the epicenter of a resurgent rise in cases. United Teachers of Dade President Karla Hernández-Mats speaking out in favor of masks in schools at a school board meeting on Aug. 18. (WLRN.com) "We were baffled that we were having to fight for something that was so rudimentary," Hernández-Mats said. "We thought it was reckless that he would put this executive order out there when we know that the majority of our kids that are 12 and under don't have access to a vaccine." Alesandra Miller, a mother to a sixth grade Brownsville Middle student, believes that one added layer of protection over her vaccine should not bother anyone. "We're vaccinated, but not [my son] because he's 11 years old. But I have it and everyone else in the house has it. I put on my mask because even people who are vaccinated can get sick," she said. Shermicko Williams, another parent of two Brownsville students, a son in sixth grade and a daughter in fifth grade, agrees with the judge's ruling. "They should wear masks and I think [DeSantis is] interfering with something that he should not," she said. So far, 11 Florida districts have voted to defy the governor with no parental opt outs. In turn, the state is not backing down. Defying the judge's ruling, the Florida Department of Education sent the Miami-Dade County school district a warning letter on Friday following the decision, stating that if it doesn't comply with the governor's order by Wednesday afternoon, the department will withhold the salaries of all school board members. "We will stand by our position that we are not in defiance of the law. We're standing in full compliance of the law," said Gallon of the letter. Similar letters were sent to Broward and Alachua school districts two weeks ago. Those counties will now be facing monthly salary losses according to a news release sent out Monday by Department of Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran. The Biden administration is expected to step in soon. On Monday, the U.S. Department of Education announced investigations into five states – Iowa, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee and Utah – whose prohibitions on mask mandates in schools could violate civil rights laws. However, the federal agency has not opened an investigation in Florida because "those states' bans on universal indoor masking are not currently being enforced as a result of court orders or other state actions." The investigations will look into whether the states' policies are a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act, which requires schools to accommodate those with disabilities, and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, under which schools are required to provide a free and appropriate public education to disabled students. 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.