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The Mask Debate Recent Mask Mandates Bring Potential Lawsuit to NKC School District by Zion Holmes and Rahand Omer Over the past two years, American lives have been affected by COVID19. North Kansas City School District’s students have been required to wear masks daily to go to school, work, or just out and about. In January, the Attorney General of Missouri, Eric Schmitt, sent warnings and the possible consequence of a lawsuit to multiple Missouri school districts if schools kept mask mandates in place. NKC is one of the schools who received a warning of this possible lawsuit. NKC School District Attorney Steve Book said, “The Attorney General has filed a petition against the district, but he has not filed a motion for a temporary restraining order (TRO) at this point, although he has done that in cases against four other school districts. Because we have not been the subject of a motion for a TRO, I have not spent much time analyzing those arguments. I believe the district has good factual and legal arguments against the claims in the petition.”
“We will file a response within the time required by law and defend against the claims asserted,” Book said. “It’s possible that the lawsuit would be considered moot if at some point in the future the mask requirement is removed.” Due to recent changes made by the CDC, masks are now recommended by the district rather than required. Students at Winnetonka High School weighed in on the mask mandate and Schmitt’s threat to sue the school district. Sophomore Colleen Cox said, “Why is it that [Schmitt] cares? With the new variants, when masks were down for one week, Covid cases rose significantly within the school. It’s about not being selfish and looking out for our fellow students and in turn ourselves.”
Junior Luiza Wakeman holds her phone as if it is a mask after performing the cheer routine at the winter sports assembly on Fed. 4. Photo by Cheyenne Brown.
Sophomore David Heinrich disagrees. "[Schmitt] has the right to sue. It’ll be like that week of school when we didn’t have masks. That’s how it should be. Masks don’t prevent Covid, it’s just a sheet of paper. We aren’t even following social distancing procedures anymore. What’s the point of masks?” “I was near people with Covid at school and other public places and I didn’t catch it as I was wearing my mask, it also made me feel safer and more protected. It might not completely prevent Covid, but it is a safety measure at the least,” Cox added. “When there was no mask mandate at school, those that didn’t have masks on were made fun of, though not necessarily to their face. Also, usually those that didn’t wear masks were in friend groups and
