Judge denies Marine School’s COVID mask suppression order

The judge refused to give Marin’s school a temporary restraint order on Thursday that would prevent students from imposing outdoor mask requirements.

Julianamakin, the parent of Novat Charter School, called for an order on Wednesday, stating that county policy violated the federal and state constitutions.

On Wednesday night, the county changed the mask guidance from “requirements” to “recommended.”

“Published changes to Marin County Education Department WebsiteCounty lawyer Kate Stanford said at a hearing Thursday morning. “At this point, I don’t know why I’m here.”

Judge Stephen Fressello of the Marin County Superior Court referred to the revised wording in the dismissal of the petition. He gave Makin the option to file a corrected complaint by August 27.

Freccero said the matter could be dismissed if the parties to the proceedings agreed that the revised guidance invalidated the petition for the binding order.

“These are difficult times for everyone, for those who are trying to keep their students safe, and for those who are trying to educate them,” Fresero said. “It seems to me that things have changed. After all, we all have the same interests.”

Makin’s lawyer, James Rush, said his clients were “satisfied” with the wording changes in the guidance, but the problem was still “quite ambiguous.”

“I don’t know,” Rush said. “Do students have to wait to be told they can take off their masks? Will it be enforced at school or is it a parent’s choice?”

Neither the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention nor the California Public Health Service require outdoor masking at schools, Rush said.

“It was clearly not right to put on a mask and put a strain on school children sitting in class for six hours,” he said. “They should be able to go out and play.”

In her complaint, McKin said the county guidance violated Articles 5 and 14 of the US Constitutional Amendment and Article 1 (7) of the California Constitution. The law corresponds to arbitrary government action and due process.

“Unless the defendant is bound by an injunction, the plaintiff is seriously deprived of the constitutionally protected right to make decisions regarding the care, custody and control of her children, their education, and their upbringing. You will continue to suffer irreparable damage, “complains.

The obligation to use outdoor masks violates the Equal Protection Clause of the California Constitution. This applies to staff and students from kindergarten to high school on campus, but the rest of Marin, whether vaccinated or not, are free to participate in outdoor activities without mask restrictions. “.” The complaint said.

A complaint named Dr. Matt Willis, a county public health officer. Marin County Department of Health and Social Welfare. Mary Jane Burke, the county school chief. Marin County Department of Education; Novato Unified School District; and Jan La Torre-Derby, District Foreman.

La Torre-Derby said Thursday that the district does not have jurisdiction over the independent organization Novato Charter School. Therefore, she and the district were mistakenly nominated as defendants.

“That said, we will continue to follow our district’s public health guidelines,” she said.

La Torre Derby sent an email to Novat Charter School this week informing him of the mask requirements, Rush said. He said it showed that she and the district were valid defendants.

Mr Burke said he was “excited” about Fressello’s decision.

“Our school has been operating since last year under clear and clear guidelines for masking the indoors and outdoors of the school campus,” she said. “If we learned anything during this pandemic, it means that precautions such as masking and vaccination can make a difference between life and death.”

Modified guidelines available online , States as follows. “Unless there are medical or behavioral contraindications or exemptions, all staff and all students are required to wear face covers indoors and should be worn outdoors in the direction of public health. I recommend it. “

Previously, he said, “Unless there are medical or behavioral contraindications, all staff and students must wear face covers (indoor and outdoor).”

Willis said the change in the wording of the guidance was “to clarify that there was no fundamental public health officer’s order” regarding outdoor masking.

“It’s not our habit to write orders for every element of our guidance,” he said. “If it was an order, it would be a misdemeanor if there was a breach.”

According to Willis, the wording is less important than the strong obligation to pay attention to the highly contagious and aggressive delta variants and work together as a county to ensure school safety.

“In fact, Delta also challenges the best systems, so you have to be careful,” says Willis. “If you don’t follow the guidance, the virus remains a threat. If it’s not clear now, I’m sure it will continue for the next few weeks.”

“Apart from Marin, we are considering closing classrooms within the first few days of school,” Willis added. He said Marin’s school didn’t even need to be closed.

Masking requirements at marine school were agitated protest On Tuesday, a large unmasked crowd gathered at a meeting of the Marin County Board of Education. Protesters said the mission was eroding personal freedom and parental choice.

On Thursday, Marine School parent Chelsea Schulant, a Belvedere resident who was speaking out during a push to reopen school for face-to-face learning last year, complained about outdoor masking. I have stated.

“It has not been announced that Marin selectively enforced this ominous outdoor masking obligation, frankly,” she said in an email.