Catholic Schools Mask Lawsuit Filed Against Florida Diocese

Sarasota FL

21 September, 2021

12:46 PM

Description

SOUTHWEST FLORIDA — Upset by a mask mandate for Catholic schools in Southwest Florida, a group of parents filed a lawsuit against the Diocese of Venice to challenge the policy. In response to a surge in COVID-19 cases in the community, face masks are required indoors at Catholic schools located in counties with a new case positivity rate of 10 percent or higher, the diocese said in August at the start of the school year. The diocese oversees Catholic schools in Charlotte, Collier, DeSoto, Glades, Hardee, Hendry, Highlands, Lee, Manatee and Sarasota counties. "The mask mandate violates the Parents' Bill of Rights because it violates the Plaintiffs' rights to make health care decisions for their children, and it breaches the contractual relationship between the plaintiffs and the diocese, and the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing in that relationship," according to the complained filed Sept. 14. The parents are calling for an initial, temporary injunction against the diocese's mask policy, claiming masks will cause "irreparable injury, loss or damage." They're also seeking a declaratory judgment and damages in the case. A court date is set for Sept. 30. Related Stories: Catholic Schools Mask Mandate Ordered By Diocese Of VeniceFL Mask Mandate Fight Not Over, Feds Investigate SchoolsDeSantis Ban On School Mask Mandates Allowed By CourtsMask Mandate Discussion Plea Rejected By Pinellas SchoolsMask Policy 'Compliant' With Florida Law, School Board SaysSchool Face Mask Lawsuit Dropped In Sarasota CountyMask Mandate Prompts Parents To Sue Sarasota County School Board The complaint claims there is no evidence that masks prevent COVID-19 transmission, and references studies from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Massachusetts state government in their argument that students shouldn't be forced to wear them at school. (Read the full complaint below.) "Once the feigned urgency concerning face masks evaporates — and the need for masking children is exposed for what it is, a mirage — the question of whether children should be forced to wear face masks in school becomes much simpler," the complaint reads. "The answer— in any other environment other than the 'global pandemic' school districts continue to insist still exists — would unequivocally be 'no.' Indeed, no one in their right mind would force children to wear face masks in a situation where no other entity or institution is requiring them and where such a practice has no benefit and, instead, is harmful." In a statement, the diocese said that it's aware of the lawsuit and noted that the positivity rate in each county within its jurisdiction was "well above 10 percent" Sept. 10-16, according to weekly data from the Florida Department of Health. "The Diocese of Venice Office of Education stands by its decision to help protect children, faculty and staff by temporarily requiring masks in those counties where the positivity rate is 10 percent or greater. This decision is based upon a well-known Biblical admonition to elevate the interests of others above one's own," the diocese's statement read. "As private religious schools, the diocese has a constitutional right to establish policy founded upon a religious tenet supporting the beliefs of the diocese. Our forefathers included the Bill of Rights in the Constitution, which assures freedom of religion." The diocese added, "The Bill of Rights further prohibits government intrusion against private citizens and organizations. A private Catholic school is not considered a government entity and it, as well as any private organization, has a right to establish policy as it determines is in the best interests of its mission." The diocese said that it "respects the rights of parents to be the first educators of their children." During the pandemic, though, it "ask(s) parents to understand and respect the rights of the diocese to apply its religious tenets in making the decision." School mask mandates have been a hot button issue in Florida since the start of the pandemic. Like what you're reading? Invite a friend to subscribe to free Sarasota newsletters and real-time email alerts. Last year, five public school districts - Sarasota County Schools, Hillsborough County Public Schools, Indian River County School District, Brevard Public Schools and Lee Public Schools - faced parent lawsuits over mask mandates for students. In Sarasota and Lee counties, the cases were voluntarily dismissed, while judges in Indian River, Brevard and Hillsborough counties ruled against the parents. In July, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed an executive order giving parents a choice of masking their children, effectively banning public school district mask mandates. More than a dozen Florida school districts, including Sarasota County, approved mask mandates without a parent opt out, defying DeSantis, and the matter landed in court. A state judge initially ruled against the governor's executive order, but Florida's 1st District Court of Appeals reversed the decision a day later on Sept. 10., preventing districts, once again, from adopting mask mandates. Days later, the U.S. Department of Education said that it's opened a civil rights investigation into Florida's ban on school mask mandates. Read the full complaint from the lawsuit filed against the Diocese of Venice: School Mask Lawsuit Against Diocese of Venice by Tiffany Razzano on Scribd