Trial Counsel Against the Governor

In July 2020, the Florida Department of Education issued an emergency order requiring all public schools to offer in-person, “brick and mortar” learning options five days a week starting in August to receive state funding, regardless of local COVID-19 conditions.

Jacob Stuart Law, the Florida Education Association (FEA), along with several teachers, parents, and other organizations, filed a federal lawsuit against Governor Ron DeSantis and state education officials. The plaintiffs argued that the state’s mandate was unconstitutional because it arbitrarily disregarded safety concerns, infringed on the Florida Constitution’s mandate for a safe and high-quality school system, and denied local school boards the decision-making authority to determine when it was safe to reopen based on public health guidelines.

A circuit court judge initially sided with the FEA, granting a temporary injunction that blocked portions of the state’s emergency order. The judge ruled that safety had to come first and that the order was unconstitutional for conditioning funding on an arbitrary August start date.