Florida public schools

Pointing to a “hierarchy” that requires school districts to follow state laws and rules, the Florida Department of Health is asking a judge to toss out a challenge by six school boards to a rule that seeks to prevent student mask mandates during the pandemic.

The State Board of Education on Thursday ratcheted up discipline against eight county school boards that have maintained student mask mandates to try to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Some school districts that have imposed student mask requirements aren’t backing down, despite state threats of financial penalties and a revamped Florida Department of Health rule aimed at bolstering parental choice on masks.

Hosting hiring fairs, shifting resources and shuttering schools are some of the measures school district officials are taking as they grapple with shortages in crucial staffing positions amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Leon County Circuit Judge John Cooper on Thursday released a written ruling that said Gov. Ron DeSantis overstepped his constitutional authority in a July 30 executive order that sought to prevent school districts from requiring students to wear masks.

Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran announced Monday that the state Department of Education has withheld funds from the Alachua and Broward county school districts in amounts equal to school board members’ monthly salaries.

Attorneys for Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday began calling witnesses to back the state’s case against allowing school districts to impose student mask mandates, as a hearing continued in a lawsuit challenging a DeSantis executive order.

Tossing out a July decision, a full federal appeals court will hear a battle about whether a transgender male student should have been allowed to use boys’ bathrooms at a North Florida high school.

Florida is among 21 states that have not submitted plans to the U.S. Department of Education detailing how they intend to use the latest round of federal stimulus funds earmarked for schools.

After winning an initial round in the closely watched legal fight, teachers unions have asked a Leon County circuit judge to lift a stay on his ruling that a state mandate to reopen brick-and-mortar schools is unconstitutional.