Florida Judge Sets Aside Automatic Stay, Allowing Schools Mask Mandates to Continue

The state will file to reinstate the stay

Families protest any potential mask mandates before the Hillsborough County Schools Board meeting held at the district office in Tampa, Fla., on July 27, 2021. Octavio Jones/Getty Images

PUNTA GORDA, Fla.—On Wednesday morning, Second District Court Judge John Cooper heard arguments from both sides over an automatic stay on Gov. Ron DeSantis’s executive order that allows parents to opt out of school districts mask mandates. The judge ruled to set aside the stay, allowing schools to continue to mandate facial coverings for students, staff, and vendors, as well as bar the Department of Education from issuing penalties to school districts for not following the governor’s executive order.

After the Leon County judge ruled last week against the governor, citing his executive order as unconstitutional, the attorneys for the state filed an appeal. During the appeal process, an automatic stay is triggered to set aside the judge’s order until the appeal is heard, which is normally reserved for government entities. This did not sit well with the opposition as they filed a motion to have the automatic stay set aside, which led up to the judge’s decision Wednesday.

However, the ruling came as “no surprise” to the governor’s camp as the judge’s decision was anticipated.