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Alternate Title

Unmasking the Power Dynamic Between Local School Boards and the State Executive Branch: Implications for Future Local School Safety Protocols

Keywords

Mask policy, Education, Covid-19, Coronavirus, Florida, State of Florida

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought attention to the government’s power in controlling the operation of public schools. The legal and political differences among local school boards and the State’s COVID policies are exemplified in media headline battles pertaining to school reopening and the Governor’s so called “anti-mask mandate.” The State capitalized on its emergency powers at the expense of providing local school boards with the autonomy to enact district-wide protective measures. Local school boards have faced several challenges in arguing against State Emergency Orders including a difficulty with proving state compulsion to comply with its directives, overly broad statutory language providing limited guidance, and judicially created doctrines like the political question doctrine and separation of powers preventing court intervention. There is still an opportunity for school boards to enact district specific COVID protective measures and return the power over emergency decisions to the local, most community representative level. First, school boards should argue, as other states recognize, the broad State Constitutional mandate to provide for safe, public schools implies a court review mechanism to ensure basic, educational standards are being met. Second, Florida Statute Section 1001.42 grants school boards the power to protect student welfare and supervise the daily operation of schools, which should allow school boards to implement their own safety protocols to meet local needs.

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