PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The only Montgomery County school district where all staff and students are required to wear masks is asking a federal appeals court to let it shift to mask-optional.
The Perkiomen Valley School District is asking the Third Circuit Court of Appeals to lift the temporary injunction, which requires all students and staff to wear masks in all Perk Valley buildings during the school day.
That injunction was handed down by federal Judge Wendy Beetlestone. She sided with the parents of three students who argued that requiring at-risk students to mask rather than requiring all students to mask treated those at-risk students differently, and was therefore a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
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Lawyers for the district argue the case is moot, quoting several of the plaintiffs’ arguments where they tie their case to guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The CDC’s latest guidance says in the “medium” level, anyone at risk is recommended to talk to their health care provider about whether they should wear a mask. Montgomery County is in the CDC’s “low” category, where masks are optional.
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Lawyers for the three families say the case is being properly handled by Beetlestone, and the appellate court should allow the case to play out there. Lawyers add that if the injunction is lifted, their clients will be forced to either school virtually or risk “severe illness or death to access the school buildings.”
Beetlestone has given the lawyers for the parents until the end of the week to argue why she should not lift the masking requirement.