# Missouri Attorney General Files Lawsuits Against 36 School Districts Over ‘Unlawful’ Mask Mandates

By Human Events · Published 2022-01-24 · News & Analysis › Culture · https://humanevents.com/news/missouri-attorney-general-files-lawsuits-against-36-school-districts-over-unlawful-mask-mandates

> Missouri’s Attorney General Eric Schmitt filed lawsuits against 36 school districts that are “unlawfully” enforcing mask mandates on faculty, staff and students. Schmitt argued that individual school districts “do not have the authority to impose” public health orders on students,” the Daily Caller reports. School districts “only have the power to issue those health rules \[…\]

Missouri’s Attorney General Eric Schmitt filed lawsuits against 36 school districts that are “unlawfully” enforcing mask mandates on faculty, staff and students.

Schmitt argued that individual school districts “do not have the authority to impose” public health orders on students,” the Daily Caller reports. School districts “only have the power to issue those health rules that the General Assembly provides them.”

“The General Assembly did not give school districts that authority to condition in-person attendance on compliance with an arbitrary mask mandate,” Schmitt said.

In November, a Cole County Circuit Court ruled that mask mandates violate Missouri’s Constitution and its separation of powers clause. As a result, Schmitt began pressing districts to do away with mask mandates.

The litigation was filed against some of Missouri’s largest school districts including [St. Louis City School District](https://www.ksdk.com/article/news/health/coronavirus/city-of-st-louis-extends-mask-mandate/63-fd126042-34c4-4935-aee2-27922b4e9876), [North Kansas City School District](https://www.nkcschools.org/cms/lib/MO49000025/Centricity/Domain/6367/SRCSP.pdf) and [Rockwood R-VI School District](https://ago.mo.gov/docs/default-source/press-releases/school-lawsuit-petition/rockwood-petition.pdf?sfvrsn=64cea80c_6). The mask mandate in those three districts affects [62,802](https://www.niche.com/k12/search/largest-school-districts/s/missouri/) students.

Schmitt filed lawsuits against the following districts:

- Francis Howell
- Park Hill
- Fort Zumwalt
- Lee’s Summit
- Holden
- Affton
- Liberty
- Jefferson City
- St. Charles
- Kansas City
- Waynesville
- Hazelwood
- Raytown
- Kingsville
- Rockwood
- Hickman Mills
- Ladue
- Center
- Dunklin R-V
- Independence
- Lindbergh
- Grandview
- Fox C-6
- North Kansas City
- Ferguson-Florissant
- Maplewood
- Clayton
- St. Louis City
- Parkway
- Brentwood
- Valley Park
- Pattonville
- Webster Groves
- Mehlville