ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The battle between parents and Gov. Ron DeSantis over mask mandates in schools is expected to continue in court today.
On Aug. 6, attorneys in the Tampa Bay area filed a lawsuit challenging DeSantis' executive order banning schools from enacting mask mandates.
The lawsuit says DeSantis' ban violates the Florida Constitution, which grants decision-making power to local school boards.
Charles Gallagher, a St. Petersburg attorney and father of two school-aged daughters, said at the time 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.
DeSantis has been firm in giving parents the freedom to send their children back to school in a mask, and his executive order puts an effective ban on school districts from mandating them. The potential consequence of violating that order is the loss of funds equivalent to each respective school district's superintendent's salary.
On Monday, attorneys representing DeSantis, Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran and the Florida Department of Education filed a motion to dismiss this lawsuit, saying the lawsuit doesn't have legal grounds because the argument over mask mandates in schools should be between school districts and DeSantis, not parents, per the Constitution.
A judge will consider the motion to dismiss at 2 p.m. Thursday.
If the judge doesn't dismiss the case, both sides are scheduled to have a three-day hearing on the matter starting Aug. 23.