Chesco district sued by parents for enforcing state order
EASTTOWN » A lawsuit has been filed in federal court against the Tredyffrin/Easttown School District challenging an order by the Wolf Administration mandating children wear masks in school. The order took effect last week and generated protests at school board meetings by some parents.
The statewide mandate imposed by acting Health Secretary Alison Beam took effect Sept. 7 and requires students and teachers in all Pennsylvania public schools to wear face masks to inhibit the spread of COVID-19. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, child COVID-19
cases increased 240 percent since July.
The lawsuit, filed by the Philadelphia law firm Obermayer Rebmann Maxwell and Hippel, argues that the Aug. 31 decision by the Tredyffrin-Easttown School Board in adopting a Health and Safety Plan discriminates against religious objections to wearing face coverings by exempting only certain secular activities from the mask requirement.
The suit argues that none of the alternatives to masking are satisfactory because they infringe on the free exercise of religion by treating students differently based on their religious objections to wearing masks.
Additionally, the suit claims that the state Department of Health lacks regulatory authority to require healthy people who are not
infected with a communicable disease to wear masks to prevent the transmission of COVID-19 in schools.
The plaintiffs say in the suit cloth face coverings have not been approved by the FDA as medical devices for preventing transmission of viruses, and that the district’s testing protocol has not been approved by the FDA.
Parents listed as plaintiffs in the suit are Sarah Marvin, of Russell Road, Paoli; Andrew McLellan, Whitehorse Road, Malvern; Alicia Geerings, Laurel Lane, Wayne, and David Goveranti of Sugartown Road, Devon.
The suit states that children of the plaintiffs went to school on Aug. 30 and school officials refused to allow them to attend class in person and sent them home because they did not want to wear a face masks.
Tredyffrin/Easttown School District officials refused comment due to the litigation, but its website
issued a statement saying “The Acting Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Health announced an order directing face coverings to be worn by all individuals aged two and over while in school. TESD’s COVID-19 Mitigation Plan currently includes such a requirement. The District will comply with all masking orders and will continue to monitor guidance and recommendations from our local, state, and federal public health officials.”
Said Gov. Tom Wolf in a statement: “My office has received an outpouring of messages from parents asking the administration to protect all children by requiring masks in schools.
“The science is clear. The Delta variant is highly transmissible and dangerous to the unvaccinated, many of whom are children too young to receive the vaccine. Requiring masks in schools will keep our students safer and in the classroom,
where we all want them to be.
“I preferred for local school boards to make this decision. Unfortunately, an aggressive nationwide campaign is spreading misinformation about mask-wearing and pressuring and intimidating school districts to reject mask policies that will keep kids safe and in school. As we see cases among children increase in Pennsylvania
and throughout the country, this is especially dangerous and challenging as we seek to keep kids in school and maintain a safe and healthy learning environment.”
A hearing on the lawsuit is set for 9 a.m., Tuesday, Oct. 21 in Eastern District Court in Philadelphia.
The lawsuit is one of a number of legal actions filed over Gov. Wolf’s directive
regarding face masks in schools. A lawsuit was filed Sept. 3 in Commonwealth Court by Republican Senate president Pro Tempore Jake Corman, and another was filed by parents of students in Parkland School District in Lehigh Valley, and another in Pennsbury School District in Bucks County.
A fundraising site to offset legal costs for the lawsuit entitled “Unmask TE” was created and to date has raised nearly $8,500. It can be found at https://www.gofundme.com/f/unmask-tesupport-freedom-of-choice.
Tredyffrin/Easttown’s mitigation plan can be found here https://www.tesd.net/ cms/lib/PA01001259/Centricity/Domain/1939/TE%20 Covid%20Mitigation%20 Plan%20Aug%2016%202021. pdf.
The lawsuit can be found here https://pattyebenson.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/PA-EasternDistrict-Lawsuit-AttorneyFiling-Geerling-et-al.pdf.