ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The stage is set for how a lawsuit filed by several Tampa Bay area attorneys challenging Gov. DeSantis' executive order banning mask mandates in schools will proceed in court.
Both parties appeared before a judge Friday to assess the status of the case and schedule out future hearings.
Attorneys representing Gov. Ron DeSantis, Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran and the Florida Department of Education will seek to have the case dismissed, citing “significant deficiencies” in the suit.
A motion to dismiss is due to the court by Monday before a hearing on whether the case should proceed happens on Thursday in an effort to give the attorneys behind the lawsuit time to respond.
Should the judge rule not to dismiss the case both sides are scheduled to have a three-day hearing on the matter starting Aug. 23.
“This is an expedited proceeding and this doesn’t mean I’m ‘gon sit around for two or three weeks trying to make my mind up. I’m gonna read what your write, I’m gonna hear your argument, I’m gonna consider it and then I’m gonna verbally rule," the judge said in court Friday.
He also set an expectation for both parties to drop their current cases to handle this complaint, just as he is.
The lawsuit, claiming the governor's ban on mandating masks in schools violates the Florida Constitution, was first filed on Aug. 6.
“Our main argument is that there's an irreparable harm,” said Natalie Paskiewicz, a St. Petersburg-based attorney who recently joined the legal team.
Charles Gallagher, a St. Petersburg attorney and father of two school-aged daughters, says the 67 school boards across the state are very different from one another. Each district should be given the authority to make the decisions that are best for their communities.
Craig Whisenhunt, another attorney on the case says the lawsuit is not in favor of a mask mandate, it just gives school boards the control to make that decision.
DeSantis has been firm in giving parents the freedom the send their children back to school in a mask.
"So, the legislature passed a parents bill of rights that I signed into law about a month and a half ago and laid down the law in the state of Florida that parents have the fundamental right to raise their children, health, and well being, and that has to be respected by the state at all levels of government," DeSantis told 10 Tampa Bay last week in response to the lawsuit.
In a statement sent Friday, DeSantis spokesperson Christina Pushaw reiterated the state's stance on any mask-related lawsuit:
"We are confident in the legal basis for protecting parents’ freedom to choose whether their own children wear masks or not.
On April 29, 2021, the Florida Surgeon General issued a Public Health Advisory stating that continuing COVID-19 restrictions on individuals, including long-term use of face coverings, pose a risk of adverse and unintended consequences. On June 29, 2021, Governor DeSantis signed into law H.B. 241, the Parents’ Bill of Rights, which prevents the state, its subdivisions, or any governmental institution, from infringing on the fundamental rights of a parent to direct the upbringing, education, health care, or mental health of a minor child without demonstrating that such action is reasonable and necessary to achieve a compelling state interest and that such action is narrowly tailored and is not otherwise served by less restrictive means.
There is no statistically significant evidence to suggest that counties with mask requirements fared any better than those without mask requirements during the 2020-2021 school year, so the assumption that forced masking of children will prevent COVID-19 transmission is a faulty assumption to make. School mask mandates are not “reasonable and necessary to achieve a compelling state interest”; there is no evidence to suggest that these mandates actually work as intended, and inadequate research on the potential risks to children."
The Florida Department of Education also recently adopted an emergency rule that allows parents to transfer their kids out of school if they face "COVID-19 harassment," such as being required to wear masks.
In response to a request for comment about the lawsuit, Jared Ochs, spokesperson for FLDOE said: "...this issue is currently under litigation. Our response will be provided via filings with the court."