Federal judge declines to block Florida governor's ban on mask mandates

[RamblingRose]

Source: Atlanta Journal Constitution

A federal judge declined Wednesday to block a ban imposed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis to prevent mandating masks for Florida school students amid the ongoing coronavirus outbreak.

Judge K. Michael Moore in Miami denied a request by parents of disabled children for a preliminary injunction against an executive order that DeSantis issued in July that served as the basis for the Florida Department of Health issuing a rule that required school districts to allow parents to opt out of any student mask mandates.

Moore wrote in his ruling that parents should have pursued administrative claims before filing a lawsuit.

(snip)

The rulings mean the state can resume its efforts to impose financial penalties on the 12 school boards currently defying the mask mandate ban. Those have included docking salaries of local school board members who voted to impose student mask mandates.

(more at link)

Read more: https://www.ajc.com/news/nation-world/federal-judge-declines-to-block-florida-governors-ban-on-mask-mandates/XCNPNIVHYRBCFAVVCNUIDXSRKM/

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I'm getting whiplash from Court rulings in Florida

[mahatmakanejeeves]

1. Great comment. Same here. NT

[William Seger]

5. It doesn't help that "declined to block a ban" is like a triple negative

[DownriverDem]

2. Kill your voters

what a great plan.

[Jon King]

3. Desantis barely won his election.

Amazing how a guy who barely squeaked into office decides he is a dictator.

[Tommymac]

11. He learned from TFG.

That is the Clear and Present Danger TFG presents to Democracy.

The KillerClown should be charged with Insurrection, arrested and held in custody without bail until trial.

And DeathSantis should be Impeached and thrown out of office.

But the 1%.

[NoMoreRepugs]

4. RePutinican Governor DeathSentence who won his election

by .4 of one percent over a so-so candidate acts like he has the largest elected mandate in history.

[Fullduplexxx]

6. Appointed by George H. W. Bush

[JohnnyRingo]

7. Perhaps the judge reads the news.

He can be perplexed when large numbers of students get quarantined or hospitalized. He can wonder if there was just some way to slow the spread of the virus in schools.

Oh well, there's nothing he can do.

[NullTuples]

8. Surprise! Republican Judge.

About that "exhausting administrative remedies":

Plaintiffs’ attorney Matthew Dietz said in an email that he believed the judge misconstrued a U.S. Supreme Court decision about the exhaustion of administrative remedies in cases involving children with disabilities. He pointed out that it takes at least 75 days for administrative preconditions to be exhausted in Florida, meaning children with disabilities who would be seriously injured or killed by a COVID-19 infection would be unable to return safely to their school.

[CaptainTruth]

9. School children need to wear black masks as a form of political protest...

...thus protected speech under 1A.

TINKER V. DES MOINES - LANDMARK SUPREME COURT RULING ON BEHALF OF STUDENT EXPRESSION

On Feb. 24, 1969, the court ruled 7-2 that students do not “shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate.”

The court found that the First Amendment applied to public schools, and school officials could not censor student speech unless it disrupted the educational process. Because wearing a black armband was not disruptive, the court held that the First Amendment protected the right of students to wear them.

[bucolic_frolic]

10. The Maximize Death in Our Communities Party has spoken

MDOC. They love the free spread of COVID, gun toting, and pollution from corporations.

[groundloop]

12. So when those "administrative claims" have been pursued and fail .........

what will happen then?

I just can't imagine that a state constitution gives any governor the power to single-handedly impose penalties on local governments for not bowing to his will.