Get the latest BPR news delivered free to your inbox daily. SIGN UP HERE
CHECK OUT WeThePeople.store for best SWAG!
Throughout the nation, federal judges keep blocking governor-instituted bans on school mask mandates.
The latest block, issued by Obama appointee Judge Mary Geiger Lewis on Tuesday, temporarily blocks the school mask mandate ban instituted through South Carolina’s state budget by South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster, a Republican, in June.
In blocking the ban via a temporary restraining order, Lewis sided with the American Civil Liberties Union, which had filed suit late last month in an attempt to rob parents of their civil liberty to decide what masking practices are best for their own children.
The ACLU had argued that the ban was an infringement on disability rights.
BREAKING: We’re suing to end South Carolina’s ban on mask requirements in schools, with Disability Rights South Carolina, Able South Carolina, and parents.
Students with disabilities are effectively being excluded from public schools because of this ban.
Courts must intervene.
— ACLU (@ACLU) August 24, 2021
This is a disability rights issue.
Prohibiting schools from taking reasonable action to protect the health of their students forces the parents of children with disabilities to make an impossible choice: their child’s education, or their health.
— ACLU (@ACLU) August 24, 2021
Lewis agreed with their argument and ruled Tuesday that the mask mandate ban violates Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, according to Columbia station WLTX.
“No one can reasonably argue that it is an undue burden to wear a mask to accommodate a child with disabilities. Years ago, ramps were added to schools to accommodate those with mobility-related disabilities so they could access a free public education,” she reportedly said.
“Today, a mask mandate works as a sort of ramp to allow children with disabilities access to their schools. Thus, the same legal authority requiring schools to have ramps requires that school districts have the option to compel people to wear masks at school,” she added.
Following the ruling, the South Carolina Department of Education was forced to concede defeat for the time being.
Look:
Late this afternoon, U.S District Court Judge Mary Geiger Lewis granted a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction from the enforcement of Proviso 1.108. (1/2)
— S.C. Department of Education (@EducationSC) September 29, 2021
Judge Lewis found that Proviso 1.108 is in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (Title II) and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Section 504). The SCDE is reviewing the decision and will provide guidance to schools and districts on its implications tomorrow. (2/2)
— S.C. Department of Education (@EducationSC) September 29, 2021
However, the block is temporary, and McMaster has made it clear he intends to take the case all the way to the Supreme Court.
“The governor strongly disagrees with the court’s decision and will defend a parent’s right to decide what’s best for their children up to the United States Supreme Court, if necessary,” a spokesman reportedly said Tuesday.
Meanwhile, in Arizona, Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Katherine Cooper, an appointee of former Republican Gov. Jan Brewer, struck down current Gov. Doug Ducey’s own mask mandate ban on Monday on technical grounds.
Like McMaster, Ducey had instituted his ban by including it in a state budget bill. But according to Cooper, this was an unconstitutional move.
BREAKING Maricopa County judge strikes down Arizona ban on face-mask mandates as unconstitutional. Ban was to have taken effect Wednesday. Ruling affects several other pending laws. pic.twitter.com/YceWLcGlUh
— Brahm Resnik (@brahmresnik) September 27, 2021
‘CLASSIC LOGROLLING’ Here is Judge Katherine Cooper’s 17-page ruling. In sum: Legislature violated “single-subject rule” by stuffing ban on COVID mitigation measures (and other new policies) into a budget bill. https://t.co/iSBadnBThR pic.twitter.com/NLjQ7bjCdl
— Brahm Resnik (@brahmresnik) September 27, 2021
In Tennessee, Gov. Bill Lee’s order allowing parents to opt-out of school mask mandates was blocked by two separate judges late last week, according to The Tennessean.
Obama appointee Judge Waverly Crenshaw blocked the order from being enforced in Williamson County, and Bush appointee Judge J. Ronnie Greer blocked the order from being enforced in Knox County.
These rulings came a week after Obama appointee Judge Sheryl H. Lipman blocked the order from being enforced in Shelby County.
South Carolina Attorney General Herbert Slatery has already appealed the Shelby County and Knox County rulings. The Williamson County ruling has been allowed to stand because Crenshaw set an expiration date of Oct. 5th, the day that Lee’s mask mandate ban expires, according to Nashville station WZTV.
If Lee re-ups the ban, which is likely, it appears the party that sued on behalf of Williamson County will need to file suit again.
Meanwhile in Iowa, Clinton appointee Judge Robert W. Pratt blocked Gov. Kim Reynolds’ mask mandate ban two weeks ago and then re-upped it in an additional ruling this Monday.
One lone exception to this flurry of rulings has been in Florida where, earlier this month, Bush appointee Judge Kevin Michael Moore upheld Gov. Ron DeSantis’s mask mandate ban.
“Judge K. Michael Moore issued his ruling in a 34-page opinion Wednesday, leaving intact the executive order DeSantis issued on July 30 that bars Florida school districts from requiring masks in school,” Spectrum News 13 reported on Sept. 16th.
“The plaintiffs in the case are 11 parents of 16 students from eight Florida school districts. They have argued that the mask mandate ban violates the Americans with Disabilities Act and is a violation of the Rehabilitation and Florida Equity Acts,” the station added.
DONATE TO BIZPAC REVIEW
Please help us! If you are fed up with letting radical big tech execs, phony fact-checkers, tyrannical liberals and a lying mainstream media have unprecedented power over your news please consider making a donation to BPR to help us fight them. Now is the time. Truth has never been more critical!
- INSIDER: Nelson Peltz slams Disney for ‘woke’ messaging as ‘bully’ seeks seat on board - March 27, 2024
- ‘I’m That Jew’ creator on Islamic terrorism: ‘Wake the hell up. It’s coming.’ - March 27, 2024
- Chicago coverup: Migrant shelters a way to shovel tons of taxpayer money into private pockets - March 27, 2024
Comment
We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.
BPR INSIDER COMMENTS
Scroll down for non-member comments or join our insider conversations by becoming a member. We'd love to have you!