Florida’s Largest Teachers Union Sues Gov. Desantis Over School Reopenings | Eastern North Carolina Now

Publisher's note: This post appears here courtesy of the The Daily Wire, and written by Tim Pearce.

    Florida's largest teachers union is suing the state and GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis for ordering schools to hold in-person classes five days a week starting next month.

    The Florida Education Association, which represents 140,000 education employees across the state, filed the lawsuit on Monday accusing DeSantis of violating a state constitutional mandate to keep schools "safe and secure," according to National Review. The suit stems from a July 6 Education Department order directing schools to "ensure the quality and continuity of the educational process, the comprehensive wellbeing of students and families and a return to Florida hitting its full economic stride."

    "Gov. DeSantis needs a reality check, and we are attempting to provide one," FEA President Fedrick Ingram said in a statement. "The governor needs to accept the reality of the situation here in Florida, where the virus is surging out of control. He needs to accept the evolving science. It now appears that kids 10 and older may pass along the coronavirus as easily as adults. Everyone wants schools to reopen, but we don't want to begin in-person teaching, face an explosion of cases and sickness, then be forced to return to distance learning. Florida's Constitution demands that public schools be safe. Teachers and parents want our schools to meet that basic standard."

    The Florida Department of Education hit back at the teachers union, saying that the FEA "hasn't read nor understands" the July 6 order. Department spokeswoman Taryn Fenske said that the order is a reminder to school boards and superintendents that Florida schools are constitutionally obligated to continue educating students amid the pandemic, Politico reports.

    The order also guarantees funding for school districts to find creative ways to continue educating students, according to Fenske.

    "The FEA frequently states that schools are underfunded, and if this frivolous, reckless lawsuit, succeeds it will eliminate these funding guarantees — completely contradicting their normal outcry," Fenske wrote.

    DeSantis has advocated for schools reopening in the fall and letting parents make the choice of whether to send their children. On Monday at an event in Orlando, he distanced himself from his Education Department's July 6 order.

    "I didn't do an executive order. That was the Department of Education," he said, according to The Palm Beach Post.

    "Our guiding principles have been, number one, that ultimately parents need to be free to choose the best environment for their student, their kids," DeSantis said. "That means if they prefer distance learning because they're not comfortable with having kids in school, then that's their decision as a parent."

    "If people want a hybrid, [school districts] can offer hybrid. And, obviously, those parents that believe kids need to be in school, we want to provide them with an option to do that as well," he added.

    Florida's coronavirus case numbers have skyrocketed in the past month, though much of the surge is due to the state's targeted testing strategy. Daily deaths from the coronavirus have also risen across the state, but at a rate much lower than the increase in cases.
Go Back


Leave a Guest Comment

Your Name or Alias
Your Email Address ( your email address will not be published)
Enter Your Comment ( no code or urls allowed, text only please )




These Collected Rants are Percolating into a Terrible Storm Guest Editorial, Editorials, Op-Ed & Politics Our Changing State


HbAD0

Latest Op-Ed & Politics

Be careful what you wish for, you may get it
Former President Donald Trump suggested this week that if he becomes president again, he might allow Prince Harry to be deported.
It's a New Year, which means it's time to make resolutions — even for prominent evangelical leaders. The Babylon Bee asked the following well-known figures in the faith what they hope to accomplish in 2024:
Vice President Kamala Harris will visit a Minnesota Planned Parenthood clinic, reportedly the first time a president or vice president has visited an abortion facility.
An eight-mile stretch of the Blue Ridge Parkway near Asheville has been temporarily closed due to a string of “human and bear interactions,” the National Parks Service announced.
University of Wisconsin tried to punish conservatives for the fact that liberals regularly commit crimes to silence opposition
most voters think EU officials not doing a good job on illegal immigration
Come from behind by GOP candidate is a blueprint to 2024

HbAD1

Biden spending and energy policies to blame
Tuberculosis carried by illegal invaders has already infected Texas cattle
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) said this week that the only campaign promise President Joe Biden has delivered on as president is the complete dismantling of the U.S. southern border.
Hamas is reeling after losing two of their most cherished leaders on the same day: military commander Saleh al-Arouri, and Harvard President Claudine Gay.
President Joe Biden’s brother told the Internal Revenue Service that Hunter Biden told him he was in business with a “protege of President Xi,” referring to the leader of China, according to notes by an IRS investigator that were divulged during a congressional interview of Jim Biden.
Gov. Roy Cooper seeks a temporary restraining order to block a law changing the composition of the State Board of Elections.
X owner Elon Musk mocked a news segment from ABC News this week that promoted President Joe Biden’s talking points about the Democrat-led Senate’s failed border bill, which critics and many experts have said would make the situation on the border worse.
That’s the question Marguerite Roza of Georgetown University’s Edunomics Lab sought to answer in a recent webinar on the topic.
The University of Florida has fired all of its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) employees and shut down its DEI office.

HbAD2

 
Back to Top