Ryan Dailey / News Service of Florida

The State Board of Education will meet Thursday and is considering disciplinary action against 11 school boards that set student mask mandates to try to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The districts targeted for potential penalties are Alachua, Brevard, Broward, Duval, Hillsborough, Indian River, Leon, Miami-Dade, Orange, Palm Beach and Sarasota counties.

The U.S. Department of Education announced Thursday that it has provided nearly $150,000 to the Alachua County School Board to cover a state penalty targeting board members’ salaries.

The 40-page proposal (HB 167), dubbed the “Florida Heartbeat Act,” would require doctors to test for fetal heartbeats, which can occur six weeks into pregnancy. If heartbeats are detected, doctors “may not knowingly perform or induce an abortion” on pregnant women, under the proposal.

Physician and researcher Joseph Ladapo was named Florida surgeon general Tuesday, calling for being “done with fear” amid the COVID-19 pandemic that has killed more than 51,000 of the state’s residents.

Saying the state’s system of standardized testing in public schools is “quite frankly, outdated,” Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday announced that lawmakers will consider a proposal during the 2022 legislative session to end the Florida Standards Assessments.

The heads of some Florida universities are reminding students and faculty that campus leaders’ “hands are tied” when it comes to taking steps to try to curb the spread of COVID-19 and are trying to work around limitations as the academic year is underway. However, it appears unlikely that university presidents will get increased authority to move forward with stricter COVID-19 policies.

With a Leon County circuit judge expected to rule Friday morning, attorneys made closing arguments Thursday in a legal battle over Gov. Ron DeSantis’ executive order that sought to block school districts from requiring students to wear masks during the COVID-19 pandemic.

A hearing in a high-profile lawsuit challenging Gov. Ron DeSantis’ executive order aimed at preventing local school boards from imposing student mask mandates is ready for closing arguments on Thursday.

Attorneys for Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday began calling witnesses to back the state’s case against allowing school districts to impose student mask mandates, as a hearing continued in a lawsuit challenging a DeSantis executive order.

A Leon County circuit judge began hearing arguments Monday in a high-profile lawsuit about whether Florida school districts should be able to set student mask requirements as COVID-19 continues to surge across the state. Attorneys for a group of parents began calling witnesses whose arguments were geared primarily toward proving the delta variant of the coronavirus is a more potent enemy than previous variants.

A legal battle over Gov. Ron DeSantis’ attempts to prevent school mask mandates will go ahead next week after a circuit judge refused to dismiss the case Thursday. Attorneys for a group of parents are challenging a July 30 executive order by DeSantis that seeks to prohibit county school boards from requiring students to wear masks.

The State Board of Education has scheduled an emergency meeting Tuesday “to consider the compliance of school districts, including Broward and Alachua” with the rule and a new state law known as the “Parents’ Bill of Rights,” according to a notice of the meeting.