Florida Forcing School Districts To Hold In-Person Classes 5 Days A Week Is Unconstitutional, Judge Rules

TOPLINE

A judge delivered a blow to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and the state Department of Education Monday, ruling that the state’s demand that all school districts open for in-person learning five days a week, at the risk of losing state funding if they did not comply, is unconstitutional.

KEY FACTS

CRITICAL QUOTE

“The evidence demonstrated that some teachers are being told they must go back into classrooms under extremely unsafe conditions,” Dodson said in his ruling. “There is not room in many classrooms for social distancing. There is not room to put desks 4 feet apart, much less 6 feet apart as is recommended. Students entering and leaving classrooms are inherently close together. Despite school rules, some might be wearing masks and some not. Teachers have not been provided adequate personal protection equipment. They are asked to sanitize their classrooms in five minutes between classes.”

KEY BACKGROUND

Significant debates remain on the safety of putting students back in school settings, and the possibly dangerous consequences have already been seen. In neighboring Georgia, for example, multiple high schools in a metro Atlanta district had to shut down in-person instruction, while large universities like Notre Dame and the University of North Carolina have called off the fall semester after coronavirus outbreaks. 

TANGENT

Florida was the U.S. coronavirus epicenter throughout the summer, setting a national record on July 12 when it reported 15,300 new cases. But there has been some improvement in the outbreak over the past few weeks. 

SURPRISING FACT

Florida is one of a handful of states, all with Republican governors, that does not have a statewide mask mandate in place. School districts have to make their decisions on whether to enact mask mandates or not.

FURTHER READING

School reopening lawsuit: Judge rules in favor of Florida teachers (Tampa Bay Times)

Third High School In One Metro Atlanta County Is Closing After Coronavirus Outbreak (Forbes)

Notre Dame Suspends In-Person Classes After Coronavirus Spike (Forbes)

UNC Calls Off In-Person Classes One Week Into The Semester (Forbes)

Florida Shatters National Record With Over 15,000 New Coronavirus Cases (Forbes)

Florida Reports Lowest Coronavirus Case Increase Since June (Forbes)

All States With Democratic Governors Now Have Mask Mandates, But Most With Republicans Don’t (Forbes)

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