CT Group Files Legal Appeal Challenging School Mask Mandate

CONNECTICUT — The Connecticut Freedom Alliance has begun legal action against the state Department of Education's requirement that students must wear masks when they return to school this fall.

The appeal, which lists two parents in East Lyme and Manchester as plaintiffs, was filed on Friday. The document claims that the defendant, the Connecticut State Department of Education, has "no statutory or regulatory authority" to require students to use face coverings, masks or face shields. Such a requirement would "place an unconstitutional burden and restriction on the Plaintiffs’ fundamental right to an education."

The Ridgefield-based Connecticut Freedom Alliance is requesting the court to order the CSDE to rescind all requirements regarding the use of face coverings. The group also wants an order stating that neither the state nor schools may require the use of face coverings by students "at any time during the school day (whether indoors or outdoors), during after-school programs, or during transport to and from school property."

The battle over regulations requiring the wearing of masks during the coronavirus pandemic has see-sawed with the waxing and waning of transmission rates, region by region. Fought mostly in social media and grocery stores during the spring and summer, the battleground is now shifting to courts and schools. There have been legal dust-ups already in Utah, California and Illinois, and more may be on the horizon.

When asked by email about the appeal, Elizabeth Benton, spokesperson for The Office of the Attorney General, told Patch: "We are reviewing the complaint and will respond in court. Masks keep people safe. Please wear your mask."

Guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends schools allow students to stay at home whenever possible, encourage them to wash their hands frequently and wear cloth face coverings to slow the spread of COVID-19.