In Springfield, Lawsuit Asks for Student Masks as Policies Vary by District

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abandoned face mask on the curb

A federal judge denied a class-action lawsuit request filed by four families to end the school district’s mask-optional policy and return to full masks, writes Pete Bannan for the Daily Times.

The suit, filed in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, claims the optional COVID masking policy violates the Americans With Disabilities Act.

The lawsuit states that the families’ children, representing a class of medically fragile disabled students,  won’t be protected from the risk of COVID-19 without the “layered approach” recommended by the CDC.

It argues the district is required to accommodate those students to reduce the risk of harm. It asked for a temporary restraining order returning the district to universal masking.  

On Thursday, federal Judge Joshua Wolson ruled that Springfield’s mask-optional policy could continue but he also allowed the suit to go forward.

 A Feb. 28 preliminary hearing is scheduled Feb. 28 in Philadelphia.  

Masks are still required in Upper Darby school buildings and buses. Vaccination rates for students there run lower, about 30 percent, according to Superintendent Dan McGarry.

Haverford requires students be masked but could lift that requirement Feb. 17.

Elsewhere in Delaware County, masking requirements seem to vary from district to district.

Read more at the Daily Times about masking policies in schools.

A CBS This Morning video from August 2021 looks at how the mask debate is heating up school board meetings.

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