A three-judge panel has sided with Michigan's health department in a lawsuit from a Catholic grade school over a prior mask mandate.
In a 2-1 ruling this week, judges on the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected a legal challenge from the Resurrection School in Lansing.
The school and several parents sued in October 2020, arguing the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services' mask mandate for children in public and private schools was unconstitutional and violated religious freedom.
"This ruling affirms our continued stance that MDHHS was well within its jurisdiction to impose a mask mandate to help control the spread of COVID-19 as children went back to the classroom last school year," Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said in a statement.
An attorney representing the Resurrection School did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday.
There is no statewide mask requirement for schools currently in place in Michigan, although Gov. Gretchen Whitmer says school boards are encouraged to adopt their own local mandates.
Spokesman David Kerr said the Diocese of Lansing is not taking a position on the lawsuit because the Resurrection School, rather than the diocese as a whole, is suing.
“The Diocese notes, however, that all our diocesan schools have taken safety protocols seriously throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and that individual schools have worked hard to meet the needs of their respective families," Kerr said in a statement. "While never being complacent, we are confident that this serious-minded and sensible approach will be maintained in the months to come.”
