Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt has filed a class action lawsuit against public school districts which are forcing children to wear face masks.
Schmitt said the mask mandates are more harmful to students than helpful.
The lawsuit lists Columbia Public Schools, the district's superintendent and its board of education and members as defendants. It comes two days after dozens of Columbia Public School parents protested outside the school district’s administration building demanding an end to its mask requirement for the new school year, which started Tuesday.
"We filed this suit today because we fundamentally don’t believe in forced masking, rather that parents and families should have the power to make decisions on masks, based on science and facts," Schmitt said. "I am committed to fighting back against this kind of government overreach. Americans are free people, not subjects."
The Missouri AG noted that students lose facial expressions and visual cues from their peers and teachers when forced to mask up, which could set them behind other children.
“There have been no deaths under the age of 10. There has been five under the age of 18. Of the hospitalizations, one in 200,000 is a kid related to COVID-19,” Schmitt said.
“You balance that with what we know as a growing body of evidence of potential psychological and emotional issues that kids suffer from having to wear a mask all day long and some of the learning difficulties.”
🚨Breaking: Today I filed a class action lawsuit against school districts in Missouri forcing masks on schoolchildren.
Families should be making these important decisions not government bureaucrats. This is America. We have to fight back. #NoMaskMandates pic.twitter.com/7SNXYTgwjH — Eric Schmitt (@Eric_Schmitt) August 24, 2021
Free Press International
