Phoenix Union's Mask Mandate Stands For Now: Judge

PHOENIX, AZ — Phoenix Union High School's mask mandate is legal, at least for the moment, a Maricopa County Superior Court judge ruled on Monday, The Associated Press reported.

Judge Randall Warner said in the ruling that the state statute banning mask mandates for K-12 public schools does not take effect until Sept. 29, according to the Associated Press. Therefore, the school district's mandate remains legal until that date.

District teacher Doug Hester filed a suit Aug. 2 challenging the district's mask requirement. Hester argued that the state Legislature's ban on mask mandates, approved in June as part of the state budget legislation, was effective retroactively from Sept. 29, the Associated Press reported.

Although the judge disagreed with Hester on that point, he also said that the school district failed to prove that the mask mandate ban was beyond the Legislature's legal authority, according to the Associated Press.

>>>Read the full story via The Associated Press.