Florida Teachers Union Sues to Stop School Openings amid Virus Surge

Florida’s largest teachers union sued Governor Ron DeSantis on Monday to overturn an emergency order requiring schools to offer in-person instruction five days a week next month, even as cases of COVID-19 surge in the state.

In the suit, filed in circuit court in Miami-Dade county, the Florida Education Association accuses the governor and several other defendants, including state education commissioner Richard Corcoran, the state Education Department and the State Board of Education, of violating a state constitutional mandate to keep public schools “safe and secure”

Florida Education Association president Fedrick Ingram said the governor “needs a reality check, and we are attempting to provide one” in a statement announcing the lawsuit.

“The governor needs to accept the reality of the situation here in Florida, where the virus is surging out of control,” Ingram added.