Closing arguments set in the school mask fight

Leon County Circuit Judge John Cooper said he plans to rule on the case on Friday morning. Cooper had originally scheduled the hearing to end on Wednesday.

“Whatever the outcome in this case, I think we could suggest to the (state) Supreme Court if they want to know how to adjudicate a case very quickly, that this could be a good case study on how to do it, ”Cooper said. .

A parent group has filed a lawsuit challenging DeSantis’ July 30 order, alleging it violates a section of the state’s Constitution that requires providing a “consistent, efficient, safe, secure, and high-quality system.” »Public schools.

Several parents testified this week that their children are too young to be vaccinated against COVID-19, and masks are their only line of defense against the transmission of the disease.

Lawyers representing DeSantis on Wednesday called on parents who oppose the warrants to try to bolster the governor’s position that parents should decide whether children wear masks.

State Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran, the State Board of Education and the State Department of Education are also named as defendants in the lawsuit.

Ashley Benton, who has four children in the Leon County school system, said Wednesday that her fifth-grader daughter has a rare neurological condition that presents as a speech impediment in young children.

“For her with the mask, it’s extremely upsetting. When there were mask warrants here in Leon County, we tried to stick to them, and I just couldn’t get him anywhere, ”Benton said.

Benton said his daughter’s pediatrician refused to sign a doctor’s note asking Benton to withdraw from a mask requirement imposed by Leon County schools.

Jacob Oliva, a senior education ministry official, also said the state saw little difference last year in schools that required masks and those that did not have a warrant.

“We did a kind of cross-reference of districts of similar size, to see what the positive or non-positive cases would look like with districts that had masks or did not have masking policies, and it was statistically really insignificant. “said Oliva.

Lawyers representing the plaintiffs, however, argued throughout the hearing that an increase in coronavirus cases and hospitalizations caused by the delta variant – including in children – has resulted in an urgent need for mask warrants in hospitals. schools.

Stanford University professor of medicine Jay Bhattacharya, a witness the state has relied on to challenge the effectiveness of wearing masks, was cross-examined on Wednesday by lawyers for the plaintiffs.

Lawyer Charles Gallagher asked Bhattacharya under what circumstances, if any, he would recommend that students wear masks in schools. Bhattacharya, who said he was doing full-time research and had not treated patients with COVID-19, argued he had not seen convincing evidence of the masks’ effectiveness .

“If there is evidence that it is very effective in stopping the spread of disease, there is strong, high quality evidence … if there is evidence that children can effectively wear masks at minimal cost to them any the day, so yes I would recommend it, “Bhattacharya said.

Lawyers for the plaintiffs also asked pediatric pulmonologist Tony Kriseman to rebut Bhattacharya’s arguments.

“We have a responsibility to do all we can to reduce the rates of morbidity and mortality that we see in adults and children. And that’s no longer a summary for me. Last year, during the pandemic, it was a bit abstract because we were working hard, doing everything we could, but we didn’t have the deluge of patients. Now I’m being asked to tell patients, please don’t come to my emergency room, you’re not going to be seen there for six hours, ”Kriseman said.

Ten school districts adopted mask requirements as of Wednesday that ran counter to DeSantis’ order and a resulting Health Department rule that parents must be able to opt out of warrants.

Orange and Indian River County school boards on Tuesday joined with eight other counties in imposing mask requirements that allow exceptions only for parents who submit doctor’s notes.

Counties with such mask requirements now represent about half of Florida’s 2.8 million students.

DeSantis said on Wednesday that the districts were breaking a new state law known as the “Parents Bill of Rights” which deals with the right of parents to control education and health decisions for their children.

“These school districts violate state law and overturn parents’ judgment on it,” DeSantis said.

As districts mull over mask warrants, at least two schools have been closed this week due to “the number of students to be quarantined as a result” of COVID-19 infections. Baldwin Middle School and Duncan U. Fletcher Middle School, both located in Duval County, have closed their doors and switched to online teaching for seven days.