Florida school mask mandate power struggle goes before judge

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Florida's power struggle over wearing masks in school to guard against coronavirus infections landed Monday before a judge considering a lawsuit that challenges Gov. Ron DeSantis' order reserving the mask decision for parents.

The three-day hearing before Leon County Circuit Judge John C. Cooper pits pro-mask parents against the Republican governor and state education officials who say parents, not schools, should choose whether their children cover up inside schools.

The hearings come as the highly contagious delta variant causes a surge in cases, hospitalizations and deaths across Florida, where the school year is already being disrupted.

Some districts belatedly began requiring masks, as recommended by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and numerous medical organizations, after classroom exposures forced them to send thousands of students and hundreds of teachers and staff into isolation or quarantine.

At least seven school districts representing more than 1 million Florida students were defying the governor's order as of Monday morning and others have scheduled votes soon on the issue. State education officials have vowed to financially punish districts that don't comply with the order, contending they are violating state law unless they allow parents to opt-out their children for any reason.

Charles Dodson, a former judge representing the parents challenging the governor's order, said in an opening statement that the delta variant affects children more than the previous virus strain and places them at greater risk in crowded schools.

“Because of the delta variant, our schools are not safe and secure unless everyone wears a mask,” Dodson said. “It is certainly an emergency.”

The Florida Constitution and state law give...