Q&A – Recourse For Parents And Students Over Lawless School Mask Mandates

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Today’s entry: As a concerned parent who is mostly concerned with the loss of learning associated with wearing masks, you’ve been the only one I’ve come across who has reported on and presented the studies demonstrating learning loss associated with forced masking. Now that the state appears to have won the issue in the courts once and for all my question is this. Shouldn’t there be some type of recourse for parents who had their rights wrongfully taken away by school boards who unlawfully imposed mask mandates and for students who’ve been negatively impacted in the classroom? 

Bottom Line: The answer is yes. Our legal system provides a path for potential recourse in situations such as these. Before discussing those possibilities let’s reset what’s happened here. As of July 1st, Florida’s Parents Bill of Rights is law. The law provides parents with specified oversight over decisions that impact their children while at school. Prior to the start of the current school year the Florida Department of Health in conjunction with the Florida Department of Education made a determination that the Parents Bill of Rights afforded parents the lawful ability to exempt their children from mask mandates which may be imposed by school districts. Of course, numerous school districts across the state including Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach County thought otherwise and imposed mask mandates without parental opt-outs which have led to the showdowns between the state, the school districts and at times the federal government. 

You cited the studies with which I've referenced throughout this debate. The ones I’ve discussed are accredited studies that were posted on the National Institutes of Health’s website. As you’ve likely heard me say, all related studies have indicated varying degrees of the same issues. At every age and every level of education, teachers are less effective at teaching and students are less effective at learning.

Then there are the health implications. One of the studies on the NIH’s website found that 81% of children were embarrassed to wear a mask at school, 49% of children experienced headaches associated with wearing masks, and 45% experienced speaking difficulties. These along with other findings.

In addressing the question of potential recourse, the key from a legal perspective would be for parents to demonstrate harm having been done to their children via the illegally forced masking by the school districts. This could come in the form of learning loss. For example, has your child’s educational performance clearly suffered in a way you could demonstrate in court? Or has your child clearly suffered from any of the health maladies I just outlined? If you could clearly demonstrate that type of harm, you could be well-positioned to pursue legal action against your school district. This would be the type of case that would be a candidate for class-action status with families similarly impacted from across the state joining in. 

I’m not one who’s quick to suggest legal action is the best action and there’s nothing fun or easy about the prospect of legally challenging school districts, however, I do feel this battle is one worth fighting for two key reasons. First due to the principle of this issue and second for accountability. I do believe in choosing one’s battles rather than attempting to fight them all. This, in my mind, is one worth fighting. 

Each day I feature a listener question sent by one of these methods. 

Email: brianmudd@iheartmedia.com

Gettr, Parler & Twitter: @brianmuddradio 


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