A judge is letting a school district in metro Phoenix keep its requirement that students and teachers wear masks, at least in the coming weeks, even though a new state law bars such mandates.
Judge Randall Warner declined to immediately put the brakes on the Phoenix Union High School’s mask requirement, but is still allowing teacher Douglas Hester to continue pressing his challenge of the district’s policy. Warner said the new law doesn’t take effect until Sept. 29.
A coalition of education groups sued to the state last week over mask mandate bans. At least 11 other districts accounting for 140,000 students and more than 200 schools have required masks. Flagstaff Unified School District is among them.
The legal battle is seen as a test case for other districts in the state considering similar mandates amid surging COVID-19 infections.
