ST. LOUIS — The Missouri attorney general is seeking temporary restraining orders against some of the school districts requiring masks until lawsuits can be heard in court.
Attorney General Eric Schmitt filed lawsuits earlier this month against 45 school districts that are requiring masks in an effort to reduce the spread of COVID-19. On Monday, he said his office had started filing for temporary restraining orders.
According to a release from his office, three have been filed as of Monday in the lawsuits against the St. Charles R-VI, Ferguson-Florissant and Columbia Public Schools districts. Schmitt's office said there are more temporary restraining order filings "on the way."
The orders would stop the districts from enforcing their mask mandates and force the schools to post notices on their building and website that the enforcement of mask mandates has paused for students and staff.
"Our fight against mask mandates in Missouri continues, and we will not stop until the power to make health decisions for children is pried from the hands of bureaucrats and placed back into the hands of parents,” said Schmitt in the emailed news release.
In its latest guidance on Jan. 13, the CDC recommended universal masking by all students, staff, teachers and visitors regardless of vaccination status. The CDC also recommends other mitigation efforts like improved ventilation, screening testing and handwashing.
Every county in the St. Louis area and nearly every county in the country is experiencing what the CDC classifies as high levels of community transmission of COVID-19, due in part to the highly contagious omicron variant.
Many of the school districts sued by the attorney general have responded to his lawsuits, decrying the action as a waste of taxpayer money. Last week, the St. Charles School District said in a statement that it was "deeply disappointed."
The full statement reads as follows.
"The City of St. Charles School District is deeply disappointed that Attorney General Eric Schmitt has chosen to sue us along with many other districts in the state of Missouri. This cynical action is a waste of taxpayer dollars and serves to undermine the authority of local, publicly elected officials and, thus, the will of the people.
"The City of St. Charles School District and its Board of Education will continue to serve the citizens of our district by protecting the health and well-being of our students, staff and community, and remaining dutiful in educating the future of our great nation."
In the lawsuits against school districts, Schmitt says mask requirements are "illegal", citing a Cole County judge's ruling that struck down mask mandates from local health departments. Schmitt says that ruling applies to schools, too, although many school leaders and elected school board members disagree.
"These motions for temporary restraining orders are just the first of many as school districts continue to run afoul of the law and enforce illegal mask mandates," Schmitt said in a statement Monday.
Schmitt is running for U.S. Senate to fill the seat that will be vacated by the retiring Roy Blunt. Other candidates in the crowded Republican primary include Representative Billy Long of southwest Missouri, former Governor Eric Greitens and St. Louis-area attorney Mark McCloskey.