It seems like only yesterday I was blogging about Judge Cooper lifting the stay that would have allowed Florida Governor Ron DeSantis to continue to withhold funds from school districts that enforced mask mandates without parental exception while the appeal was pending. Alas, that was almost 48 hours ago, and the times have changed.

The First District Court of Appeal has issued an Order today reinstating the stay, citing concerns over jurisdiction and standing. For those outside the legal world, that’s code for “we don’t plan on talking about the real issues, we’re probably going to focus on procedural problems so we don’t have to deal with the real issues.” Well, that’s my translation, in any event.

By reinstating the stay, Governor DeSantis has regained the unfettered ability to penalize school districts, and—coming soon to a governmental office and/or business near you—to assess a $5,000 penalty for each and every time proof of vaccination is required in these places, an issue I also addressed recently.

Today’s Order does NOT mean that the original decision that mask mandates could be enforced pursuant to the Florida Parents’ Bill of Rights has been overturned. That decision remains intact, for now. What the Order does imply is that a decision may be issued in the future against the mask mandate penalty prohibition on technical grounds.

What can I say? Nobody Floridas like Florida. Stay safe out there this weekend!