Arkansas Judge Puts Mask Mandate on Hold, District Claims They Would Have Done it Anyway

Today, an Arkansas circuit court judge put Bentonville Schools’ mask mandate on hold, meaning that students in the district will not have to wear masks at school starting Thursday.

In a statement to 40/29 after the decision, the district insisted, “We’re pleased to see the latest data which reveals COVID-19 infection rates trending in the right direction. We believe the current numbers would have led us to this decision regardless of today’s outcome.”

It was reported today COVID-19 cases in the state are on a continued decline as data from the Arkansas Department of Health showed the active case count fell by 217 to 7,879.

The ruling comes after three Bentonville parents filed a lawsuit in August to stop Bentonville Schools from requiring students to wear masks on school grounds.

Travis Story, the attorney for the plaintiffs, said at the time, “We have asked for a temporary restraining order or an injunction that would prohibit the current mask or face covering policy from continuing, and it would ask to revert to the mask optional policy, which was the case before the August 11th board meeting.”

The judge today sided with the plaintiffs and found that the Bentonville School Board did not have the authority to issue a mask mandate.

During a press conference today, Arkansas Secretary of Health Dr. Jose Romero urged mask-wearing in schools and GOP Gov. Asa Hutchinson echoed Romero’s recommendation.

Hutchinson added that it is important to avoid quarantines and keep students in the classroom.