JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A Florida appeals court has ruled Duval County Public Schools and Alachua County Public Schools must comply with state COVID-19 rules during their respective challenges to those rules.
The districts are challenging two orders made by Gov. Ron DeSantis:
- Districts that pass a mask mandate must allow parents or guardians to opt their child out of wearing a mask
- Districts must allow children exposed to COVID-19 to attend school if they are not showing symptoms of infection
Both districts have been at the forefront in the fight against the orders.
The Duval County School Board initially complied with the governor's mask order, allowing parents and guardians to opt their child out of wearing a mask for any reason. However, the board later required all students to wear a mask unless they had a doctor's note excusing them from wearing a mask as cases started to rise in the district.
Several parents filed a lawsuit against the district while the board challenged the rule itself. The district reinstated the opt-out rule earlier this week as cases fell below the threshold set by the district.
Meanwhile, Alachua County Public Schools publicly defied the quarantine rules, prompting a lawsuit from parents and a legal challenge as well.
In a ruling by the First District Court of Appeal, the districts must comply with the state's orders until the resolution of their challenges.
"Respondents are challenging the rule through an administrative process. But until the rule is successfully challenged, the respondents are not free to ignore the law," the court says.
Because the court is not ruling on the challenges but only whether districts must comply until the challenges are resolved, the cases are being transferred to the Fourth Judicial Circuit for DCPS and the Eighth Judicial Circuit for ACPS.
"The courts will not wade into the policy battles underway. But neither will we refuse to exercise our constitutional authority to compel compliance with the law," the ruling says.
An attorney representing the parents suing DCPS over the mask mandate also sent the district a cease and desist regarding its mask policy.
Even though the district returned to the opt-out plan, the policy states the district may remove the opt-out option again if cases spike above the set threshold again.
The cease and desist demands that part of the policy be removed.
"We demand an express, written announcement that you intend to respect the law and, going forward, parents and legal guardians will be allowed to opt their children out of wearing a face covering or mask at their sole discretion, as the FDOH Rule requires," the cease and desist order says.
The district has not publicly responded to the letter.