Third Circuit Dismisses Pro-Mask Class Action Suit

By William J. Zee & Megan E. Bomba

March 10, 2022

The Third Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed complaints from a group of medically fragile students and their parents challenging a Pennsylvania school district’s mask policy.

In John Doe, et al. v. Upper Saint Clair School District, et al., the parents of five students with disabilities sought declaratory and injunctive relief for violating the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. The plaintiffs asserted that without a mask requirement, that medically vulnerable students must choose between attending school in-person with risk of exposure to COVID-19 or suffering further learning loss from virtual instruction, which excludes the students from access to the educational program in violation of the ADA and Section 504.

The school board voted on January 10, 2022, to reverse a universal mask requirement as prescribed in its approved Health and Safety Plan effective later in January. This vote came before the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) updated mask guidance for schools on February 25, 2022, whereby the recommendation for universal masking in communities with low to medium transmission levels was lifted.

The court agreed that the county’s low COVID-19 transmission levels rendered the plaintiff’s challenge to the school district’s masking policies moot. Citing County of Butler v. Wolf, the circumstances surrounding COVID-19 substantially changed in recent months, allowing for local agencies, including schools, to make policies that best fit the needs of their communities.

The decision affirms school district reliance on updated recommendations from the CDC permitting schools to determine masking policies based on Community Levels.

Should you have any questions regarding this case or any other policy-related questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to William J. Zee or any of the attorneys in the Appel, Yost & Zee Education Group.