Republican Florida Governor Ron DeSantis exceeded the legal authority of his office by demanding local governments and school boards not mandate masks be worn as a public health requirement to stem the spread of the coronavirus in the state, a Florida judge ruled Friday, Fox 13 reports.

DeSantis’s order violated Florida’s Parents’ Bill of Rights, which the Republican-dominated Florida legislature passed last year and became active this year. The law, which allows for parents to decide if their children should wear masks in schools, was the basis for DeSantis’ sweeping claim that he had the authority to ban mask mandates made by school districts.  Florida Judge John Cooper, however, noted that the law does not give DeSantis that power and in fact, supports local schools districts’ ability to determine their own paths forward.

The ruling bars the state government, particularly the state Board of Education, from punishing local school boards by withholding funding if they enact a mask mandate. Cooper ruled that the school boards would be subject to due process hearings to determine if their individual mask mandates were too burdensome on students and staff. Cooper cited two cases decided by the Florida Supreme Court in his opinion, which he took an hour to read in court Friday morning: a 1914 Florida Supreme Court case involving limiting rights so as not to injure others, and a 1939 Florida Supreme Court case affirming the 1914 decision. Cooper said that an individual’s freedom is limited by how exercising that freedom adversely impacts those around him/her. He saw no evidence that wearing masks harmed individuals. To the claim that forcing a child to wear a mask is akin to child abuse, Cooper said, “I’ve seen no scientific evidence of that.”