Cobb Schools Face Federal Lawsuit Over Lack Of COVID Protection

MARIETTA, GA – The Southern Poverty Law Center plans to file a federal lawsuit against Cobb Schools this week if the district maintains its current COVID-19 policies and contends the district is keeping disabled students from attending school, according to a intent to sue letter sent to district officials last week.

In a letter to Superintendent Chris Ragsdale and members of the school board, the law center — which is based in Montgomery, Alabama — maintains that because of disabled students’ condition, they are unable to attend school in person unless the district acts to "prevent and mitigate these risks." The letter also said that school officials are not adhering to guidelines established by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for K-12 students, which suggests masks should be worn in school settings.

The letter, written by attorney Michael J. Tafelski on behalf of the Southern Poverty Law Center and two Atlanta law firms, said that the district has refused to modify its policies and practices in order to accommodate clients the law center represents and has “excluded them from a safe and accessible learning environment.” It also said that if the district does not act to "reasonably modify" its current policies, the attorneys representing their clients will have no choice but to file the lawsuit in federal court.

“Since the start of the 2021-2022 academic year, the District has willfully refused and consistently failed to implement policies and practices that comply with current COVID-19 safety guidelines established by federal, state, and local public health officials,” the letter said. “The District has received hundreds of millions of dollars from the federal government to keep students safe during the pandemic and allow all students the opportunity to attend school in person if they choose.”

The letter was sent the same day Ragsdale made a presentation to the school board indicating that confirmed COVID-19 cases had dropped by 64 percent since the start of the school year. Ragsdale told the board that 95 percent of the district’s schools had experienced dramatic dips in COVID-19 and that new cases were not any higher than they were last year when the district mandated that students and staff wear masks.

Ragsdale told the board last week that when compared to four area districts — including two which require masks for students and staff — Cobb Schools sits in the middle in terms of new confirmed COVID-19 cases. As of last week, the district reported 394 positive cases, as opposed to 1,033 the first time it reported case numbers in late August. The 394 cases were down from 576 the week of Sept. 17.

An email sent to the district Tuesday morning was not immediately returned to Patch. The district provided a statement to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, which reads:

“As is the case with any issue, individual student needs are supported on a student-by-student basis and we actively encourage any student or family to discuss their needs with their local school.”

The Southern Poverty Law Center said in the letter said that the district receives federal funding to serve 15,000 disabled students who are enrolled in schools around the county. Yet, the letter said, when confronted with the “significant risks of harm posed by COVID-19 to schools — and especially to students with disabilities — Superintendent Ragsdale and certain board members have refused to even discuss or consider COVID-19 safety precautions ... .

“By refusing to implement effective virus mitigation strategies, the District unlawfully excludes our clients from, and denies them the benefits of, an in-person education based on their disabilities,” the letter said.

The district is currently on its fall break, and students are scheduled to return to the classroom on Oct. 4.

The Southern Poverty Law Center is representing families of disabled students along with the Goodmark Law Firm and the Law Office of Allison B. Vrolijk. In the letter, the group says that because the district is not following the guidance of the CDC and other groups, including the Cobb County Board of Health, disabled students are being denied the right of a public education in a safe learning environment.

“The district's decision to not implement CDC COVID mitigation guidelines is causing parents of students with significant medical conditions to make an impossible choice: their child's education or their child's lives,” Vrolijk said in a news release. “This unconscionable position can be easily remedied through measures taken by innumerable other school districts across Georgia, but the Cobb County Superintendent and School Board have chosen not to. We hope that they do the right thing and show that they care about the health and well-being of all of their students.”