SAN DIEGO — A judge denied the emergency injunction request for a lawsuit filed against the state to strike down mask mandates in California’s K thru 12 schools Thursday morning.
The plaintiffs say this is just the first step in their fight to push back against mandates for students. The lawsuit will still continue on to a preliminary hearing scheduled for November 8.
Parents and others who oppose the mask mandates in schools say they filed the lawsuit on behalf of students and their right to choose. So they have no plans to give up anytime soon.
On Thursday, a judge decided not to grant a temporary restraining order against the state to stop it from mandating masks in public schools. The lawsuit was filed by groups Let Them Breathe and ReOpen California Schools.
The joint lawsuit was filed back in July, with Governor Gavin Newsom, the CA Dept. of Public Health and the Dept. of Health and Human Services listed as defendants.
Legal analyst Wendy Patrick said the groups opposing masks mandates have been gathering evidence they believe will prove the mandates aren’t necessary in school.
“They have filed a very comprehensive lawsuit that contains some well-founded arguments that they’ve really collected from a lot of different places. Which includes the lower infection rates for kids, the importance of socialization at that age, and really a lot of information regarding the other kinds of public venues that kids are not required to wear a mask,” said Patrick.
“Let them breathe, let them choose. We are for choice and we are in this to protect our students’ rights. No matter how long or difficult that legal battle may be,” said Sharon McKeeman, founder of Let Them Breathe.
Let Them Breathe also just launched a Let Them Choose initiative, that will file a lawsuit next week against San Diego Unified Schools’ student vaccine mandate.
Regarding the judge's decision Thursday, the Governor's office sent News 8 a statement reading,
"We are pleased that the court agreed with our argument that blocking the continued implementation of the universal masking requirement for K-12 schools was unwarranted at this time.
Our guidance is firmly grounded in science and has been a critical component of our efforts to support the safe return to in-person learning for all students this school year. Recent studies confirm that schools with universal masking requirements are much less likely to experience outbreaks, confirming that masking is a critical strategy to keep students safe and schools open.
We remain focused on supporting schools to continue serving their students in person and will continue to defend these common-sense measures to keep students safe."
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