Just as many states are pushing back against school mandates as there are advocating them. But one of the latest rulings has many schools reconsidering their options. Kentucky Federal Judge William Bertelsman recently blocked a statewide school mask mandate, adding that the governor’s order appeared to lack any validity.
Bertelsman ruled that the Executive Branch cannot ignore the laws passed by the Kentucky reps and that Beshear’s order appeared to lack any validity. Earlier this year, the state overrode Gov. Andy Beshear’s veto to pass a measure that would limit his public health authority. Bertelsman warned members that the remedy lies at the polls.
The Kentucky order was set to last for 30 days, following the Center for Disease Control & Prevention’s recommendation for face coverings in schools, regardless of vaccination status. Gov. Beshear insisted that we are at a point where we can’t allow our kids to go into these buildings “unprotected, unvaccinated, and face this delta variant.”
The order would exempt students younger than two and those with certain disabilities. It would also let students take off their masks in school when eating, drinking, giving a speech, exercising, or swimming.
Gov. Beshear went on to cancel the executive order after the judge’s ruling. The Kentucky Board of Education, however, has decided to implement its own mask mandate in public schools. The vote came during an emergency meeting with the educators. Lt. Gov. Coleman cited skyrocketing hospitalization and ventilator stats, adding that implementing a mask mandate is ‘negligent.’
Prior to that meeting, the Local Superintendent Advisory Council met, which is made up of 11 school superintendents. While the group does not have a final say in mandating masks, they’ve sent their recommendation to the state school board. There would be additional meetings scheduled If the CDC or Department of Health lifted their guidelines.
After fighting masks, Critical Race Theory, and transgender ideology on kids, Fairfax County students made their way back to a five-day-a-week schedule. The school had some of the most controversial and heated school board meetings, yet remained one of the first in Virginia to reopen. Masks are required for everyone regardless of vaccination status but are not required outdoors or for athletic events.
Employees will either have to be vaccinated or submit routine negative COVID-19 tests following the demand of the Fairfax County Federation of Teachers. The mask mandates will include FCPS buildings and on buses.
School board meetings across the country regarding mask mandates have gotten extremely violent, with some verbal arguments turning so aggressive that police were called in. Some are facing criminal charges, both mask and anti-mask protesters, along with many school districts defying orders.
Some radical left school districts in Florida and Texas are defying their state governors and instilling mask mandates, despite its ban. Other schools in Arizona and South Carolina are also facing similar bans. Some colleges and universities have even begun unrolling their unvaccinated students and fining them hundreds of dollars over COVID-19 vaccine documentation.
Whiles some state governors like DeSantis continue to defend the parents’ right to make medical decisions for their children, others are holding onto mask mandates by a thread. One by one, the district judges will rule how unconstitutional mask mandates are. Not to mention the lack of scientific evidence in its abilities to reduce the transmission of COVID-19. Democrats are always the ones refusing the science.
