Florida’s largest teachers union filed suit against Gov. Ron DeSantis and the commissioner of education for mandating that schools reopen fully next month as Florida contends with a worsening coronavirus surge.
“Gov. DeSantis needs a reality check, and we are attempting to provide one,” Florida Education Association President Fedrick Ingram said Monday. “The governor needs to accept the reality of the situation here in Florida, where the virus is surging out of control.”
The lawsuit named state education Commissioner Richard Corcoran, DeSantis, and the Florida State Board of Education as plaintiffs. The FEA is pushing to overturn the emergency order filed by Corcoran earlier this month that all schools must be open for in-person instruction five days each week.
“Everyone wants schools to reopen, but we don’t want to begin in-person teaching, face an explosion of cases and sickness, then be forced to return to distance learning,” Ingram said. “Florida’s Constitution demands that public schools be safe. Teachers and parents want our schools to meet that basic standard.”
Corcoran’s emergency order forced school districts to abandon plans to offer hybrid learning, which would allow students to attend classes in person a few days a week and then take classes virtually for the remainder of the week, a system that many states are considering in lieu of fully reopening schools for in-person instruction.
While young people typically experience mild symptoms if they test positive for the coronavirus, older staff members and teachers would be at increased risk of getting seriously sick if schools were to reopen fully. Andrew Spar, vice president of the Florida Education Association, told the Washington Examiner last week that teachers have “a lot of anxiety” about returning to classrooms without implementing proper social distancing measures meant to keep students and staff safe.
The lawsuit comes as the coronavirus outbreak worsens in Florida, having infected more than 350,000 people. More than 10,500 new cases were reported Monday, marking the sixth consecutive day that cases increased by more than 10,000.
Florida’s seven-day moving average coronavirus test positive rate is more than 18%, with some cities such as Miami maintaining about a 21% test positivity rate through most of July. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines published in the spring suggested that for states to reopen, the COVID-19 test positive rate should not exceed 10%.
