Mask mandates are back in Douglas County schools, at least for now.

A federal judge issued a temporary restraining order Tuesday against the new Douglas County Health Department’s Public Health Order that had removed a mask mandate and loosened quarantine protocols in schools.

The judge said the health department had violated the Americans with Disabilities Act and blocked the department’s order for 14 days.

The ruling by U.S. District Judge John L. Kane came in response to a lawsuit filed by the Douglas County School District on behalf of nine families with children with disabilities. Kane restored the district’s mandate that students and staff must wear masks while at school and said that the health department’s put students with disabilities at great risk.

“I find the risk of irreparable harm to Plaintiffs is significant and they have sufficiently demonstrated that the Public Health Order denies Student Plaintiffs reasonable accommodations in the form of science-backed masking and quarantine requirements,” Kane wrote in his ruling. 

The district sued the county’s newly formed health department last week on behalf of families with children with disabilities that range from cystic fibrosis to Type 1 Diabetes, which make them more susceptible to severe illness from COVID-19, according to court documents. 

Those families claimed their children’s rights were being violated by the mask exemption and the health department had violated the American with Disabilities Act and Section 504.

Douglas County Board of Health makes masks optional for students, despite school district policy

The public health order that went into effect on Oct. 9, allowed students and staff to be granted exemptions from wearing masks in schools across the district and limited quarantine regulations for students and staff. To date, over 5,000 people received such exemptions, according to court documents.

Lawyers representing the county health department argued that a temporary injunction shouldn’t be issued because:

• The district lacks standing to raise claims under the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504;
• Plaintiffs failed to exhaust their administrative remedies under the Individual with Disabilities Education Act;
• And the Plaintiffs have not shown that a temporary restraining order is justified, because they are unlikely to succeed on the merits of their claims, they are not likely to suffer irreparable harm, and the relief they have requested is not in the public interest.

Kane disagreed with each claim and found that the district sued to protect children with disabilities from discrimination, that the plaintiffs claims are not subject to administrative exhaustion requirement under IDEA and through testimonies have proven the students are more likely to suffer irreparable harm because of the order. 

“I find that a 14-day temporary restriction on enforcement of the Public Health Order will protect Student Plaintiffs from potential irreparable harm and is in the public interest,” Kane wrote in the order.

Douglas County’s Board of Health issued a statement Tuesday afternoon disagreeing with the judge’s ruling and defending their order.

“We remain confident that when we have more time to make a full case we will be able to demonstrate that the Douglas County Board of Health struck the proper balance of public health protection and parental involvement in health care decision for their children,” the board wrote in a statement to The Denver Gazette.

Meanwhile, the district’s Superintendent Corey Wise said Tuesday’s ruling helps the district protect all students.

“This ruling allows us to do just that,” Wise said in a statement.

“No parent should be forced to choose between sending their child to school and risking their child’s health, and no family should have to fear that their child may face life-threatening illness just to access their right to a great education.

“Today’s ruling was the right one. It will help us continue to make our schools safe for in-person learning.”