Judge blocks DeSantis from banning school mask mandates

School districts in Florida will be allowed to impose mask requirements after a district judge on Friday blocked an executive order from Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) banning the mandates.

Leon County Circuit Judge John Cooper ruled in favor of a group of parents who sued DeSantis over his executive order, arguing it was unconstitutional. He ruled the order is “without legal authority” and is by definition “arbitrary” and “capricious.”

Cooper issued an injunction stopping the Department of Education from taking any action against local districts that require masks in schools without a parental opt-out.

The judge said the state’s new “Parents’ Bill of Rights” does not allow the governor or the Department of Education to prohibit school districts from mandating masks.

“The law expressly permits school boards to adopt policies regarding the health care of students, such as a mask mandate, even if a parent disagrees,” Cooper said. “Parents’ rights are very important, but they are not without some reasonable limitations.”

DeSantis previously said he would appeal if the ruling was not in his favor.