Court sides with Florida’s Ron DeSantis and reinstates school mask mandate ban pending appeal
The IndependentSign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} A Florida court has reinstated Republican Governor Ron DeSantis’s ban on mask mandates after a Leon County judge’s ruling was put on hold pending appeal. On Friday, the 1st District Court of Appeal granted a request from the state of Florida to reinstate a stay on the ruling of Judge John Cooper as a group of parents strongly objected to the move, saying it could cause “irreparable harm” to their children as the number of Covid cases increases in the state, The Miami Herald reported. Judge Cooper ruled in August that the state cannot punish school districts that impose mask mandates if they show that their policy is “reasonable” and that it’s needed in order to achieve a “compelling state interest”. With a stay in place, students, parents and teachers are back in harm’s way.” Mr DeSantis and Florida Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran have battled parents in court over the mask rules as the number of school districts that have instituted mandates has increased.