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KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt has sued the Park Hill, Liberty, Kansas City and Lee’s Summit school districts over their mask mandates.
In the lawsuits, Schmitt argues the districts do not have the authority to impose public health orders for their students, according to the lawsuits.
The petitions argue that school districts only have the power to issue health orders that the Missouri General Assembly provides to them. It also argues that masking does not prevent the spread of COVID-19 and actually harms the students.
“Since school districts lack the power to impose mask mandates, like the one at issue here, decisions about masking of children to prevent the spread of COVID-19 are reserved to parents, not to school districts,” both suits said.
The Park Hill School District previously had a mask mandate last fall which expired in December.
The district began 2022 with a mask recommendation, but they later had to bring back masking requirements on Jan. 9 due to the increase in COVID-19 cases.
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The attorney general is joined in the suit by three parents with children in the Park Hill district.
The Park Hill lawsuit has four counts – declaration that the mask mandate is void; mask mandate is unlawful; the mask mandate is unreasonable, arbitrary and capricious and violation of the Missouri Constitution.
Schmitt also sued the Lee’s Summit School District for their mask mandate.
Lee’s Summit started the 2021-2022 school year with an indoor mask mandate in all district buildings that lasted until Nov. 18.
At that time, the Board of Education voted to extend the mask mandate for only pre-kindergarten and elementary school buildings until Dec. 21 and allowed masks to be optional in all other buildings.
On Jan. 6, 2022, the board voted to reinstate the masking requirements for all district buildings until Feb. 3 due to the omicron variant.
The Lee’s Summit lawsuit has the same four counts as the Park Hill suit.
The Lee’s Summit School District previously received a cease and desist letter from the AG that he sent to several other district asking them to repeal their mask mandates.
The district’s legal counsel responded to Schmitt with a letter saying the cease and desists, “not only lack legal effect-they are simply wrong.”
Schmitt also sued Liberty Public Schools over their mask mandate.
On Dec. 21, 2021, the School Board voted to make masks optional effective Jan. 4, 2022, but they later had to reverse that decision on Jan. 10 due to an increase in COVID-19 cases.
Kansas City Public Schools was also sued by the attorney general for their mask mandate.
KCPS requires all students, staff and visitors to wear masks in their buildings. The district also required all eligible staff to be fully vaccinated by Sept. 30, 2021.
In the facts of the case, Schmitt lists the timeline of the mask mandate in the district, but the attorney general cites North Kansas City Schools’ safe return to in-person instruction plan instead of KCPS’ plan.
“The Mask Mandate requires students to wear masks while indoors. ‘Beginning Monday, January 10, masks will be required for all students, staff and visitors indoors at all NKC Schools facilities,'” the lawsuit said.
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