A group of parents filed a lawsuit last week against Madison City Schools officials seeking to overturn the system’s mask mandate.
The parents cite physical hardships faced by their children as grounds for ending the requirement to wear face coverings due to the COVID-19 pandemic as well as maintain that the school officials have overstepped their authority in implementing the mandate.
The parents listed as plaintiffs on the lawsuit: Shema Rizo, William and Sara Parker, Mike and Carrie Giles, Paul and Michelle Lambertson, Joseph and Ashley Dennis, Desiree Rosch, Erik and Michele Splawn, Theresa Miller and Richard and Candida Andrews.
Defendants are Superintendent Ed Nichols and all five members of the school board: Travis Cummings, Luis Ferrer, Tim Holtcamp, Greg Hulsey and Alice Lessman.
The school district Monday said it would not comment on pending litigation. The lawsuit was filed Feb. 3 in Madison County circuit court.
It’s at least the second lawsuit filed in the Huntsville area over masks being required in schools. In October, Adam Stephens filed suit in U.S. District Court against Huntsville City Schools on behalf of his two children seeking to end the school system’s mask mandate. The school system has filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit.
In the Madison suit, filed by Huntsville attorney Lowell Becraft Jr., parents said their children complained of headaches and sustained bloody noses due to wearing the masks.
The parents have also requested “on numerous occasions” that school officials discontinue the mask mandate, the lawsuit said.
In the lawsuit, one parent said their child was denied an exemption from wearing masks despite having headaches or the use of an inhaler. Another parent said their child has sustained headaches and been diagnosed with asthma and was denied a mask exemption.
Another parent said both of her children have had bloody noses as a result of wearing masks and one of her children has been diagnosed with asthma and allergies that are aggravated by wearing masks.
Other parents said their children had been admonished by school officials for not wearing a mask or not wearing it properly, including one who has an exemption.
A similar lawsuit was filed against Homewood City Schools in August. A Jefferson County judge denied a request for a temporary restraining order against the school system, ruling that concerns over mask-wearing did not outweigh the public health risks of unmasked, in-person learning. The suit was eventually dismissed when the attorney for the plaintiff failed to show for a hearing in the case.
Cullman City Schools was sued in August in an effort to stop promotion of the virus vaccine as well as opposing masks in schools. A Cullman County judge dismissed the case six weeks later.
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