Florida AG inserts herself in mask mandate legal fight as state defies court ruling
Attorney General Ashley Moody on Wednesday injected her legal opinion into Florida’s ongoing court battle over school mask mandates, adding noise to an increasingly political fight.
Moody, a Republican ally of Gov. Ron DeSantis, said school districts must comply with a state rule that says parents must have the ability to opt their kids out of mask requirements “unless and until the judiciary declares them invalid.”
Her legal opinion comes days after a Leon County judge ruled that DeSantis and his administration “acted without legal authority” when issuing and enforcing a blanket ban on mask mandates. The ruling was delivered orally and is not effective until written and filed. As of Wednesday evening, no ruling has been filed, which has given an opening to DeSantis and his administration to act.
Minutes after Moody published her legal opinion, the Florida Department of Education issued a statement that said her legal opinion proves districts have broken the law and need to follow state orders because “the judiciary has not declared the rule to be invalid.”
https://www.yahoo.com/news/florida-ag-inserts-herself-mask-230910113.html