Accusing the state of ignoring the Florida Constitution, a Leon County circuit judge sided with teachers unions that challenged a state order mandating that schools resume in-person instruction this month amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Florida Education Association and the union representing Orange County teachers filed lawsuits last month, alleging that Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran's July 6 order requiring brick-and-mortar schools to reopen five days a week in August violates the Constitution's guarantee of "safe" and "secure" public education. Schools districts risk losing funding if they don't comply with Corcoran's order, which teachers' attorneys called "financial bullying."