Elena Choi, 5, puts on her mask as she starts kindergarten during the first day of school Aug. 9, 2021, at Hannah Marie Brown Elementary School in Henderson.
Published Wednesday, Dec. 22, 2021 | 5:38 p.m.
Updated Wednesday, Dec. 22, 2021 | 7:46 p.m.
Clark County School District and the state have prevailed in a federal lawsuit filed by two Las Vegas-area parents who argued that the state and district’s coronavirus pandemic mask mandates are unconstitutional.
U.S. District Court Judge Jennifer Dorsey denied the parents’ request for a preliminary injunction and closed the case today, saying that the plaintiffs did not establish a viable legal basis for their federal claims.
The parents, whose children attend CCSD schools in Henderson, sued the school district, Gov. Steve Sisolak and Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford in August claiming that mask requirements violate their fundamental right to parent as they see fit. That would include making medical decisions on behalf of their children.
The parents also said they were left out of the process in which the policies were adopted.
“But these perceived wrongs don’t violate any constitutional rights,” Dorsey wrote in her 22-page decision.
CCSD issued a mask policy for the current school year for all students and staff as the COVID-19 pandemic continues, requiring a face mask to be worn indoors and on buses regardless of vaccination status, with some exceptions for medical and developmental conditions. The district’s policy followed state emergency directives requiring masks in all indoor settings, including schools.
Representatives for CCSD, nor for one of the lawyers who argued the parents’ case, Joey Gilbert, didn't immediately return requests for comment this evening. Another plaintiffs' attorney, Sigal Chattah, Tweeted that she would take the case to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
In her decision, Dorsey wrote that the parents challenging the policy did not enroll their children in CCSD’s online school or request exemptions to allow their kids to go maskless for in-person classes. Also, the judge wrote, at a case hearing, “plaintiffs’ counsel denied the existence of a pandemic, though the World Health Organization, the White House, and the United States Supreme Court have all consistently acknowledged it.”
Dorsey said the mask requirement need only be “rationally related to legitimate government interests” and the burden is on plaintiffs to show otherwise.
“Plaintiffs have not met this burden in their attack. Nor can they,” she wrote. “These policies were adopted based on guidance from the CDC, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the Southern Nevada Health District.”
Ford welcomed the decision.
“Our office has been and will continue to be the first line of defense between our health experts and those who wish to peddle debunked, fear-mongering arguments in the court of law,” he said in a statement. “I’m proud of those members of our office who stepped in and worked to ensure that the classroom is as safe as it can possibly be for our students.”
CCSD and the state face another similar case from local parents, initially filed in state court but moved to federal court. CCSD and its board, without the state, are also facing a federal lawsuit from another set of parents demanding $200 million in damages and criminal charges for top district officials over the mask mandate.
Both of those cases are pending.
