The Disability Rights Florida and the National Association of the Deaf are suing Gov. Ron DeSantis for not having a sign language interpreter during his coronavirus briefings, according to news reports.
The complaint, filed on Monday in a federal court, according to the Miami Herald, says DeSantis is violating the Americans with Disabilities Act by not providing simultaneous American Sign Language interpretation for television broadcast during the briefings.
The groups are asking a judge to compel the governor to provide the interpreter immediately, and that closed captioning is not a reasonable or effective alternative to American Sign Language.
The complaint is filed on behalf of four deaf and hard-of-hearing Floridians.
The governor has had an interpreter as some, but not all, of his coronavirus briefings.
During the hurricane season in 2019, when Hurricane Dorian was expected to damage the state, the governor did have a sign language interpreter at every news briefing and update.
