Parents sue Grapevine-Colleyville, other school districts with no mask mandates
Several North Texas school districts are facing a federal civil rights lawsuit for not having mask mandates.
On Tuesday, parents filed a class action suit in the Western District of Texas alleging that the districts are violating children’s civil rights under the 14th Amendment by failing to protect students during the pandemic.
The school districts named in the suit are Grapevine-Colleyville, Hurst-Euless-Bedford, Frisco and Lago Vista, near Austin.
Martin Cirkiel, an attorney representing the parents suing the districts, said they asked school officials to implement mask mandates for the safety of their children and others.
“Their legal fight is over whether the governor’s order (against issuing mask mandates) supersedes local government codes giving school board authority to do certain things,” he said.
Cirkiel added that the families are suing under the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment guaranteeing the right to life, liberty and property.
“Our families’ children have a right to life, and that supersedes a parent’s right to send their child to school without a mask,” he said.
Officials with the Grapevine-Colleyville and Hurst-Euless-Bedford school districts declined to comment because of pending litigation.
Cirkiel said the parents are seeking a temporary restraining order against the school districts.
The suit describes the dangers students face when districts have no mask mandates. One child has asthma and his family worries about him contracting COVID at school or from his siblings. Another child, whose family members have underlying health conditions, was in a classroom where the air conditioning is broken.
The families in the class action suit have children who are under 12 and are not eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine. The suit filed Tuesday is on behalf of a broader group of students, not just those with disabilities, who allege that school districts are discriminating against them because they didn’t issue mask mandates.
“The Defendant School Districts do not require its students, teachers, staff or even guests to wear a face mask, the bare amount of protection that is currently the only thing available to safeguard children from the virus itself, putting our youngest and precious ones at significant risk,” the lawsuit stated.
Cirkiel said he is representing families in the Allen ISD who are also suing over a lack of mask mandates.
This story was originally published September 29, 2021 at 12:55 PM.