A teacher in the Phoenix Union High School District has filed a lawsuit in Maricopa County Superior Court asking for a temporary restraining order against the District after it decided to ignore Arizona law and impose a mask mandate.
The lawsuit was filed by the Kolodin Law Group on behalf of Douglas Hester, a Science teacher at Metro Tech High on Sunday. The first day of school is Monday.
“The Phoenix Union High School District has decided to seditiously spit in the face of the state legislature by ignoring a duly-enacted statute,” Kolodin told the Arizona Daily Independent. “When I was a civics teacher we taught students that the best way to deal with laws they did not like was to change them through the democratic process. One wonders if a different lesson is being given to students in Phoenix Union High Schools.”
According to sources, the District has hired Osborn Maledon, one of Arizona’s most expensive law firms, to handle the case.
Last week, the Phoenix Union High School District announced its plans to ignore state law and mandate masks for all students, staff and visitors, regardless of vaccination status when school starts. The district claimed an increased spread of the COVID-19 Delta variant was responsible for the mandate.
In a press release, district officials acknowledged the state’s prohibition on mask mandates, but claimed it received feedback from staff, students and families who support the CDC’s masking recommendations.
The CDC’s newest guidance recommends that everyone wear masks, including fully vaccinated individuals.
Earlier this week, Governor Doug Ducey reminded Arizonans that the state does not allow mask mandates in response to the CDC’s updated guidance and called the guidance an example of the Biden Administration’s failure in handling the COVID-19 pandemic.
In the lawsuit, Kolodin relies on a new law passed this past legislative session. He writes:
On June 30th, 2021, Governor Doug Ducey signed HB 2898 into law. Exhibit A to Verified Complaint. Included within HB 2898 was a new statute, A.R.S. § 15-342.05, which provides as follows:
“Notwithstanding any other law or order, a county, city, town, school district governing board or charter school governing body may not require the use of face coverings by students or staff during school hours and on school property.”
“A school district or charter school may not require a student or teacher to receive a vaccine for COVID-19 or to wear a face covering to participate in in-person instruction.”
Included within HB 2898 was a new statute, A.R.S. § 15-342.05, which provides as follows:
HB 2898 was an omnibus bill, the various portions of which have different effective dates.
Section 119(A) of the bill provides as follows:
“Section 15-342.05, Arizona Revised Statutes, as added by this act, applies retroactively to from and after June 30, 2021. Exhibit A to Verified Complaint p 160.
View Motion for Temporary Restraining Order Without Notice (FINAL)