One of Florida’s largest teacher unions filed a lawsuit Monday to arrest Governor Ron DeSantis and state education officials for the “reckless and unsafe” reopening of schools for face-to-face classes amid growing cases of coronavirus.
Florida Education Associated (FEA) filed the lawsuit in Miami state circuit court against DeSantis, Commissioner of Education Richard Corcoran, the Florida Department of Education, the Florida State Board of Education, and the Mayor of Miami County- Dade, Carlos Giménez.
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The lawsuit alleges that the July 6 emergency order requiring all K-12 public schools in the state to allow on-site classes is a violation of the Florida Constitution as COVID-19 infections continue to increase throughout the state.
The FEA called current coronavirus conditions in the state “unsafe” for in-person learning and said the measure is “to protect the health and well-being of students, educators, and communities.”
“Governor DeSantis needs a reality check, and we are trying to provide one,” FEA President Fedrick Ingram said in a press release. “The governor must accept the reality of the situation here in Florida, where the virus is getting out of control. “
Coronavirus infections have exploded in Florida in recent weeks. On Sunday, the state reported 12,478 new positive cases of COVID-19 and 87 deaths. Florida has a total of 350,047 cases and 4,982 deaths since the outbreak began.
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The move to reopen schools in August was also greeted with concerns from the Florida Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, which represents 2,600 pediatricians in the state.
Dr. D. Paul Robinson, chairman of the FCAAP executive board, wrote a letter to DeSantis last week asking him to reconsider the reopening.
Robinson said viral infection rates in Florida are “extremely high,” averaging over 14 percent for the past two weeks. She said that most health experts recommend keeping children out of school until rates drop between 3 and 5 percent for two weeks.
While the FEA agreed that distance learning is not optimal, it said its priority is to protect the safety of children and adults on school campuses. The organization also cited a new study from South Korea that found that children between the ages of 10 and 19 can transmit the virus as easily as adults.
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“Everyone wants schools to be reopened, but we don’t want to start teaching in person, face an explosion of cases and illness, and then be forced to return to distance education,” Ingram said. “The Florida Constitution requires that public schools be safe. Teachers and parents want our schools to meet that basic standard. “
