school districts

Attorney General Ashley Moody wants the high court to decide whether hospital districts and school boards should be able to pursue opioid lawsuits after she reached settlements with the pharmaceutical industry.

Attorney General Ashley Moody wanted the Florida Supreme Court to resolve a legal battle about whether local agencies could pursue lawsuits after she reached settlements with the pharmaceutical industry.

A panel of the 1st District Court of Appeal rejected Attorney General Ashley Moody’s arguments that her office had the power to enter settlements that would effectively trump lawsuits by local agencies.

The ruling was a victory for the five hospitals and two school districts that want to pursue lawsuits to recover costs related to treating patients and educating children affected by the opioid epidemic.

Under the Legislature’s plan, districts in 12 counties would have been ineligible for $200 milion because they had mask requirements.

Bill sponsor Rep. Randy Fine says the reduction is only about 1% of the overall budget, which means targeted districts won’t get as much of an overall increase as others.

The proposal would redirect $200 million from 12 school districts — including Hillsborough and Sarasota — to districts that did not require students to wear masks.

The judge said actions like the governor's executive order on masks, typically should be upheld while working through court challenges: “But we're not in normal times, We're in a pandemic.”

The Board of Education will allow vouchers if parents feel their children are being bullied under a district’s COVID safety policies. Also, the Health Department gave parents the right to opt out of mandates.

Schenectady County, N.Y., is on track to pay 20 percent less on prescription drugs for its employees this year than in 2003.Flagler County, Fla., expects…