Florida judge deals another blow to DeSantis, okaying mask mandates while governor appeals ruling

Kerry Eleveld

Daily Kos Staff

Wednesday September 08, 2021 · 1:25 PM PDT

2021/09/08 · 13:25

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks holding his facemask during a press conference to address the rise of coronavirus cases in the state, at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, on July 13, 2020. - Virus epicenter Florida saw 12,624 new cases on July 12 -- the second highest daily count recorded by any state, after its own record of 15,300 new COVID-19 cases a day earlier. (Photo by CHANDAN KHANNA / AFP) (Photo by CHANDAN KHANNA/AFP via Getty Images)

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A Florida judge said Wednesday that school districts across the state can impose mask mandates while Gov. Ron DeSantis appeals a ruling that found his ban on mask mandates unconstitutional.

Leon County Circuit Judge John Cooper lifted an automatic stay on his ruling from last month barring the enforcement of DeSantis' executive order against masking requirements.

The ruling on Wednesday, though not the final say in the matter, dealt another blow to DeSantis' personal crusade to endanger as many Florida children as possible by leaving them defenseless against COVID-19 infection.

The legal challenge to DeSantis' order was brought by Florida parents, who Cooper said presented persuasive evidence that universal masking provides a last line of defense against the coronavirus, especially for children who are too young to get vaccinated. DeSantis has suffered a mutiny among local educators, with 13 school boards enacting mask mandates and more than half of the state's students now enrolled in schools with universal making requirements.

“We’re not in normal times. We are in a pandemic,” Cooper said in a remote hearing. “We have a variant that is more infectious and dangerous to children than the one we had last year.”

Last week, Florida Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran said the state would start withholding funds from two school districts that were among the first to adopt universal masking—Alachua and Broward.

DeSantis may think he’s on a sweet ride to the GOP presidential nomination, but his approvals in the Sunshine State have taken a hit as he has presided over arguably the worst delta surge in the nation while waging war against school systems trying to insulate their students from disease. Last week’s Morning Consult poll found that DeSantis’ approval rating has plummeted 14 points in the past couple months.

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