Students Fed Up With Mask Mandates, Serve School Board With Lawsuit

A group of Virginia students fed up with the school board's mask mandates served the board with a lawsuit on Tuesday. The students, who are represented by the Rutherford Institute, argue that the mandates are unconstitutional.

According to a press release from the institute, "the affidavits were presented after a “speaker claimed that the school division failed to respond to a Feb. 2 notice of ‘maladministration, and demand to cease and desist enforcing what they said are unconstitutional mandates on students.'"

The Virginia students are not the first to get fed up with mask mandates. In January, a group of parents in Massachusetts sued their school board over its mask mandate and social distancing policies. The lawsuit from the Virginia students is similar but comes at a time when Virginia's governor has also expressed his desire to end restrictions on business and social gatherings as early as next week.

Last month, a Virginia student was suspended for refusing to wear her mask in class. The Rutherford Institute came to her defense, arguing that the school's policy violated her constitutional rights. Virginia is one of several states with statewide mandates on masks and other social distancing measures.

Fortunately, as more schools double down on such draconian policies, it is likely that Virginia's students will not be the last to challenge them.