ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Florida's power struggle over wearing masks in school landed Monday before a judge considering a lawsuit that challenges Gov. Ron DeSantis' order reserving the mask decision for parents.

The three-day hearing before Leon County Circuit Judge John C. Cooper pits pro-mask parents against the Republican governor and state education officials who say parents, not schools, should choose whether their children cover up inside schools.

The hearings come as the highly contagious delta variant causes a surge in cases, hospitalizations and deaths across Florida, where the school year is already being disrupted.

Some districts belatedly began requiring masks, as recommended by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and numerous medical organizations, after classroom exposures forced them to send thousands of students and hundreds of teachers and staff into isolation or quarantine.

At least seven school districts representing more than 1 million Florida students were defying the governor's order as of Monday morning and others have scheduled votes soon on the issue. State education officials have vowed to financially punish districts that don't comply with the order, contending they are violating state law unless they allow parents to opt-out their children for any reason.

Charles Dodson, a former judge representing the parents challenging the governor's order, said in an opening statement that the delta variant affects children more than the previous virus strain and places them at greater risk in crowded schools. “Because of the delta variant, our schools are not safe and secure unless everyone wears a mask,” Dodson said. “It is certainly an emergency.”

The Florida Constitution and state law give local school boards the authority to decide health and safety matters affecting their students, Dodson said. He asked the judge to block the DeSantis order.

A lawyer for the defendants — DeSantis, Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran, the state school board and education department — said the governor's order comports with the state constitution and law, particularly the Parents Bill of Rights measure that took effect in July.

That law states that only parents and legal guardians can “direct the upbringing, education, health care, and mental health” of their child, attorney Michael Abel said.

Abel said the state's experts will testify that requiring students to wear masks causes many harms — speaking difficulty, mood changes, breathing issues and depression — while scientists disagree on their effectiveness against the coronavirus.

Citing state statistics from 2020, Abel said 40 of the 67 Florida school districts mandated masks, and yet still had positive virus tests for 48 of every 1,000 students. Districts without mask requirements had positive tests for 50 out of every 1,000 students.