Parents in Oakland County school districts consider lawsuit to end mask mandate

FOX 2 - Parents in several Oakland County school districts are banding together in an effort to end a county-wide mask mandate for students. They are threatening to file lawsuits if the schools continue to use taxpayer money to enforce the health department's orders.

"Bring on the debate about masks – but let’s not pretend the law in Michigan doesn’t prohibit school mask mandates," said Erick Kaardal.

And that's why Kaardal, special counsel for a conservative law firm based in Chicago - is going after the Walled Lake Consolidated School District, it's school board and the Oakland County Health Department - demanding they stop enforcing mask mandates for students.

Simply put, he says it violates state law. He says Governor Gretchen Whitmer didn't veto a provision in the appropriation bill, which states county health departments can't require children to wear masks. state law he says supersedes the county's mask order for students.

"This ends up being more about democracy and how we govern ourselves more than anything else," said Kaardal.

And if the school district doesn't stop enforcing the mask order - and using public funds to do so -  the group Walled Lake Citizens for Parental Rights will sue.

In response, Dan Durkin from Walled Lake Schools said "following Oakland County Health Division's emergency order for pandemic control, the district was required to follow protocols and procedures in the emergency order. Attorneys have cautioned that the district must comply."

FOX 2 reached out to Oakland County's Health Department - the response only addressing public health - not the legality of the order. The statement - in part, reads:

"In a county where vaccination rates among school-age children remain lower than other residents, not wearing masks in the classroom would place students and staff at greater risk of exposure and future quarantines and make it more difficult for administrators to keep our schools open."

But attorneys for Kallman Legal Group representing another group of parents and students in other Oakland County districts, including Troy, South Lyon and Huron Valley Schools are taking it a step further.

Not only are they are demanding the districts rescind the mask mandate, but to stop enforcing unlawful quarantine orders, only recommend and if the student is legally quarantined through a court order - the district must provide proper education or they too, will sue.

"Now that we know about it and we can manage symptoms - yes it's dangerous for people with co-morbidities," said Betty Traud.

Walled Lake parents like Traud says there have been so many changes - it is hard to know what is the right thing to do.

"I am not saying Covid isn’t real, but covering our kids' faces, it is dehumanizing them," she said.

"It doesn’t mean that there can’t be a good debate about public health issues, we just have to make sure decisions are made in proper places," said Kaardal.

Walled Lake Schools have a week to respond or else the suit will be filed next Monday.