Posted on May 31, 2023
Judge rules Attorney General lacked authority to order Missouri schools to drop mask rules
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The Lee’s Summit School District won its countersuit against the then-Missouri attorney general when a judge ruled Eric Schmitt could not order schools to cease their COVID mitigation efforts.
A Jackson County judge ruled the state’s former attorney general lacked the authority to order school districts to drop their mask mandates during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The decision from Judge Marco Roldan on Friday found Eric Schmitt, now a U.S. senator, “exceeded his lawful authority” when he ordered dozens of school districts in December 2021 to rescind measures put in place to mitigate COVID transmission in schools.
“Aside from lacking any authority over locally elected boards of education, the Attorney General’s orders did not follow Missouri law and were therefore without legal force or effect,” Roldan said. “Neither Attorney General Schmitt nor his successor has disavowed the orders, and in fact, the Attorney General continues to insist that school districts lack the very authority granted them under Missouri law.”
A Jackson County judge ruled the state’s former attorney general lacked the authority to order school districts to drop their mask mandates during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The decision from Judge Marco Roldan on Friday found Eric Schmitt, now a U.S. senator, “exceeded his lawful authority” when he ordered dozens of school districts in December 2021 to rescind measures put in place to mitigate COVID transmission in schools.
“Aside from lacking any authority over locally elected boards of education, the Attorney General’s orders did not follow Missouri law and were therefore without legal force or effect,” Roldan said. “Neither Attorney General Schmitt nor his successor has disavowed the orders, and in fact, the Attorney General continues to insist that school districts lack the very authority granted them under Missouri law.”
Judge rules Attorney General lacked authority to order Missouri schools to drop mask rules
Posted from kcur.org
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Posted 6 mo ago
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SFC John D.
PO1 William "Chip" Nagel - Agree it was an overstep telling the school districts they can't put in mask mandates at the local level.
However, if your premise is that it was done for Republican Votes, then I assume all those COVID mandates that were put in place by the Democrat politicians that later were found to be illegal/unconstitutional were done only for Democrat Votes, right? After all, they ignored the state law and the state constitution.
https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/new-york-state-supreme-court-strikes-down-gov-kathy-hochuls-mask-mandate/
https://michiganlcv.org/cases/court-declares-gov-whitmers-covid-emergency-powers-unconstitutional/
https://www.seyfarth.com/news-insights/Federal-Judge-Rules-PA-COVID-Shutdown-Orders-Unconstitutional-Governor-Plans-to-Appeal.html
https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/politics/2020/05/13/wisconsin-supreme-court-strikes-down-tony-evers-coronavirus-orders/ [login to see] /
https://www.politico.com/news/2021/08/21/kentucky-supreme-court-gov-beshear-506499
and so on..
However, if your premise is that it was done for Republican Votes, then I assume all those COVID mandates that were put in place by the Democrat politicians that later were found to be illegal/unconstitutional were done only for Democrat Votes, right? After all, they ignored the state law and the state constitution.
https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/new-york-state-supreme-court-strikes-down-gov-kathy-hochuls-mask-mandate/
https://michiganlcv.org/cases/court-declares-gov-whitmers-covid-emergency-powers-unconstitutional/
https://www.seyfarth.com/news-insights/Federal-Judge-Rules-PA-COVID-Shutdown-Orders-Unconstitutional-Governor-Plans-to-Appeal.html
https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/politics/2020/05/13/wisconsin-supreme-court-strikes-down-tony-evers-coronavirus-orders/ [login to see] /
https://www.politico.com/news/2021/08/21/kentucky-supreme-court-gov-beshear-506499
and so on..
New York State Supreme Court Strikes Down Gov. Kathy Hochul's Mask Mandate
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's leading infectious disease expert, said Monday that Omicron variant infections in the U.S. could peak by mid-February.
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."In telling schools to drop their mask mandates, Schmitt relied on a Cole County judge’s decision that a Missouri law enabling local health departments to issue public health orders was unconstitutional. Roldan, the judge, said in his ruling that no school districts were involved in that case so the judgment did not apply to their public health decisions.
Roldan wrote that some parents followed Schmitt’s orders by notifying the Lee’s Summit School District that they would send their children to school without masks, “leading to even greater confusion than the pandemic had already caused.”
Joe Hatley, an attorney for the Lee’s Summit School District, said the district’s board of education felt the orders led people to believe the attorney general had authority that rests with the school board.
The ruling states that the former attorney general’s orders would have prohibited school districts from excluding students from school who were liable to transmit an infectious disease of any kind.
“Even though COVID-19 may have waned somewhat, there are infectious disease outbreaks all the time. You could have kids coming down with mumps, measles, whatever, that would be infectious,” Hatley said. “And the order established the right of the school board to exclude students from school while they are contagious, which is what state law allows.”
..."In telling schools to drop their mask mandates, Schmitt relied on a Cole County judge’s decision that a Missouri law enabling local health departments to issue public health orders was unconstitutional. Roldan, the judge, said in his ruling that no school districts were involved in that case so the judgment did not apply to their public health decisions.
Roldan wrote that some parents followed Schmitt’s orders by notifying the Lee’s Summit School District that they would send their children to school without masks, “leading to even greater confusion than the pandemic had already caused.”
Joe Hatley, an attorney for the Lee’s Summit School District, said the district’s board of education felt the orders led people to believe the attorney general had authority that rests with the school board.
The ruling states that the former attorney general’s orders would have prohibited school districts from excluding students from school who were liable to transmit an infectious disease of any kind.
“Even though COVID-19 may have waned somewhat, there are infectious disease outbreaks all the time. You could have kids coming down with mumps, measles, whatever, that would be infectious,” Hatley said. “And the order established the right of the school board to exclude students from school while they are contagious, which is what state law allows.”
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