Top Class Actions’s website and social media posts use affiliate links. If you make a purchase using such links, we may receive a commission, but it will not result in any additional charges to you. Please review our Affiliate Link Disclosure for more information.
North Allegheny School District Mask Mandate Class Action Lawsuit Overview:
- Who: A group of parents have filed a class action lawsuit against the North Allegheny School District.
- Why: Parents claim the school district’s recent decision to make mask wearing optional puts the health of vulnerable children at risk.
- Where: The class action lawsuit was filed in Pennsylvania federal court.
The North Allegheny School District in Pittsburgh is risking the wellbeing of children with special health needs by abandoning its mandatory mask policy, a new class action lawsuit alleges.
An anonymous group of parents asked a federal court to throw out the district’s Dec. 8 decision to make mask-wearing optional, arguing it forces vulnerable children to either withdraw from in-person class or risk their health.
Parents claim the decision is a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act and have also petitioned for a temporary restraining order to have the mask mandate restored.
“Defendants’ refusal to take the steps necessary to allow disabled or concerned children to safely access the school buildings and equal access to education is in direct conflict with the express requirements of the ADA,” the brief states in support of a temporary restraining order.
Prior to the decision, the district had a policy of universal masking so long as the transmission rate in the surrounding Allegheny County was “substantial” or “high.”
Parents argue the transmission rate has met the school district’s criteria for a universal mask mandate since August.
“It is irresponsible, irrational, arbitrary and capricious for the School Board to choose to eliminate the protection provided by universal masking based upon a random date regardless of the rate of transmission, especially when the known rate of transmission currently is ‘high’ and increasing,” they said.
Parents Say If All Precautions Taken, School Safest, ‘Least Restrictive’ Place to Learn
Parents argue that in-person schooling is a better learning environment than virtual learning from home, and that, if all precautions are taken, school is the safest and “least restrictive” place to learn as well.
The temporary restraining order will help keep vulnerable children from being faced with “imminent” harm and the potential to be stigmatized by having to continue wearing masks when other students wouldn’t need to.
“Excluding children from the public-school classrooms on the basis of their medically fragile disability is precisely the type of discrimination and segregation the ADA and its amendments aim to prevent and specifically prohibit,” the brief said.
In December, a group of Pennsylvania parents sought an injunction to block the state from enacting a mask mandate in its schools.
Do you agree with the North Allegheny School District’s decision to make masks optional? Let us know in the comments!
The plaintiffs are represented by Kenneth R. Behrend of Behrend Law Group LLC and Alexander W. Saksen of Goldberg Kamin & Garvin LLP.
The North Allegheny School District Mask Mandate Class Action Lawsuit is John Doe 1 et al., v. North Allegheny School District et al., Case No: 2:22-cv00055, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania.
Don’t Miss Out!
Check out our list of Class Action Lawsuits and Class Action Settlements you may qualify to join!
Read About More Class Action Lawsuits & Class Action Settlements:
- NYC Schools Vaccine Mandate Blocked in Appeals Court, Hearing Set for Wednesday
- Texas School District’s Mask-Optional Policy Targeted in Class Action Lawsuit
- Northwestern COVID Tuition Class Action Lawsuit Dumped by Federal Judge
- The Honest Company Lied to Investors About COVID’s Impact, Class Action Lawsuit Alleges
3 thoughts onSchool District Class Action Claims Decision To Make Masks Optional Puts Health Of Vulnerable Children At Risk
Add me it’s a violation of their rights
No. The children’s vaccination rate is not up to par and COVID ranks in the top 10 as a killer of children ages 5-12
Do not agree at all with the plaintiff’s position. They don’t care at all about the students who have been forced out of school because of disabilities that preclude them from wearing masks. Nor is there any validity to the contention that masking makes medically fragile kids “safe.” Too much empirical evidence for anyone to believe this baloney anymore. Parents who want their children to have AN OPTION, as opposed to being forced to do one thing or another, are equally discriminated against in this context. Moreover, based on what we know now about infection and transmission in vaccinated adults and children, frankly it is my unvaccinated child that is at risk around your children, who are now super spreaders.