COVID-19 and school

The ruling allows the state to once again impose financial penalties on school boards currently defying the mask mandate ban.

The Hillsborough County School District says the mandate has resulted in a 58% decrease in coronavirus cases since they reached their peak last month.

Those who died include teachers, bus drivers, a security worker and a cafeteria manager. "It is a bruising statistic that we need to absolutely internalize," said Superintendent Alberto M. Carvalho.

The medical director of the pediatric ICU at the Jacksonville hospital said that along with the COVID surge in kids there’s been a rise in the number of children with multisystem inflammatory syndrome.

Attorneys for parents who challenged the executive order filed a motion requesting that the judge issue an order vacating the automatic stay. If the request is granted, that could keep his ruling in effect during the appeal.

School districts across the greater Tampa Bay region have set up dashboards to track cases at individual schools.

Taking the case to the 1st District Court of Appeal in Tallahassee puts an automatic stay on the judge's ruling, which effectively means it would be put on hold while an appeal moves forward.

Both counties sent letters to Florida Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran saying they believe they are in compliance by allowing only medical exemptions to their mandates.

The board, on a 3-2 vote, decided that parents who wish their children to be exempted must fill out a form. The policy takes effect Monday.

The penalties were levied after a judge ruled that the governor's executive order blocking mask mandates in schools was unconstitutional. Meantime, two more districts enacted mandates without parental opt-outs.

More children under 12 tested positive for COVID-19 in Florida last week than any other age group, the state reported.

Attorneys for the parents say the executive order violates the Americans with Disabilities Act and two other federal disabilities laws.