KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A Northland parents group is suing more than a dozen Missouri school districts and boards of education over indoor mask mandates. The Mayors of Kansas City and North Kansas City, as well as city council members from those two cities, are also named in the lawsuit.
The federal lawsuit was filed by the Northland Parent’s Association. The group said it is made up on Clay and Platte County parents who are working to have their children’s best interest in mind.
The group’s lawsuit claims the mask mandates in place in Excelsior Springs, Kearney, Liberty, North Kansas City, Smithville, Park Hill, and Platte County school districts are unconstitutional, unreasonable, and illegal. The suit claims the mandates violate the rights of students to get an equal education because students who refuse to wear masks will be suspended.
The group also said parents weren’t given enough notice about meetings where mandates were decided. The Northland Parents Association also believes that boards of education fall under a new state law. The law requires governing bodies to meet every month to vote on whether the mask mandates should be extended. The lawsuit states that the mandates in question are open ended.
The lawsuit lists numerous studies from other countries that show children are not as susceptible to the Delta variant, the variant is not as deadly in children, and closing schools has little effect on disease spread.
The lawsuit also cites studies that show masks fail to provide adequate protection against COVID-19 and its variants, and that masks offer a false sense of security to the people who wear them. The lawsuit also points out that many people do not wear masks correctly.
The lawsuit says that children who are forced to wear masks are suffering because of the mandates. It claims children complain of headaches, irritability, difficulty concentrating and a number of other issues.
Many of the studies listed in the lawsuit are in direct contrast to what local doctors and health experts have said publically about COVID-19 over the past 18 months.
Each board of education listed in the lawsuit passed a mask mandate for its school district. The mandates require students, employees, and visitors to wear masks while inside school buildings. Districts with schools in Kansas City, Missouri and North Kansas City decided to implement the mandates to follow city ordinances.
The following are named in the lawsuit:
Excelsior Springs School District
Excelsior Springs Board of Education
Kearney School District
Kearney Board of Education
Liberty School District
Liberty Board of Education
North Kansas City School District
North Kansas City Board of Education
Smithville School District
Smithville Board of Education
Park Hill School District
Park Hill Board of Education
Platte County School District, Board of Ed
Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas
Kansas City, Mo. City Council
North Kansas City Mayor Bryant DeLong
North Kansas City, Mo. City Council.
The lawsuit also states that while the districts said parents can ask for their children to be exempt from the mask mandates, the districts did not include religious beliefs or conscientious objections to be included in the exceptions. It also claims that requirements for medical exemptions are inconsistent and have changed.
