ORLANDO, Fla. — A judge again ruled against the DeSantis administration Wednesday in an ongoing face mask case, deciding the state cannot ban school districts from imposing mask mandates while it appeals his earlier ruling.
Leon County Circuit Judge John Cooper ruled Aug. 27 that Gov. Ron DeSantis’ ban on school mask mandates was unconstitutional and a violation of Florida’s new Parent’s Bill of Rights. He ordered the state not to take action against districts with mask mandates.
But the state quickly appealed and was granted an automatic stay typically provided to the government in such lawsuits. The lawyers for the parents who sued DeSantis and other state leaders then asked the judge to lift the stay, arguing children faced the “very real prospect of irreparable harm,” if school districts could not enforce mask mandates.
