ST PAUL, Minn. — A group known as "Parents Advocating for Safe Schools" (PASS) is filing a lawsuit that seeks to force Minnesota Governor Tim Walz to declare another peacetime emergency and impose a public school mask mandate.
The lawsuit was filed Friday in Ramsey County District Court. Attorneys for PASS claim they have grounds for a suit because of a Minnesota Constitutional provision requiring "adequate" education under the Minnesota Human Rights Act, and medical evidence of the importance of masks in preventing the spread of COVID-19.
"While a number of school districts in the state, primarily those in the Twin Cities metropolitan area, have adopted mandatory mask policies, the majority have not, particularly those in some outlying suburban areas and greater Minnesota," according to a news release from an attorney representing PASS.
The attorney also said the case has not been assigned a judge and a hearing has not yet been scheduled.
Notably, one of the attorneys representing the parent group in the lawsuit, Marshall Tanick, also previously represented businesses who defied Gov. Walz's previous pandemic restrictions.
Gov. Walz ended his emergency peacetime declaration on July 1. The executive order to combat the pandemic in Minnesota was in place for nearly 16 months.
