N.J. school kids must keep wearing masks after judge denies temporary restraining order request – NJ.com

A federal judge declined to issue a temporary restraining order earlier this week that would have blocked New Jersey’s requirement that nearly all students wear masks in school.

U.S. District Judge Kevin McNulty was not persuaded by the arguments of an attorney representing a group of New Jersey students and their parents who filed a federal lawsuit claiming New Jersey’s mask mandate for public and private schools is unfair and unnecessary.

“For the purpose of a temporary restraining order, I cannot find that this is an irrational classification. And I find that the State could reasonably rely on the guidance from CDC and other places to promulgate such a rule,” McNulty said in a hearing last week before issuing his ruling Monday.

However, the judge allowed the federal lawsuit to move forward.

A spokeswoman for Gov. Phil Murphy said the mask rules are helping get students back in the classroom full time.

“New Jersey’s school mask requirement, which is in accordance with guidance from the CDC and recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics, is vital in slowing the spread of the virus and allows our students and educators to return to the classroom safely,” said Alexandra Altman, a spokeswoman for the governor.

A spokesman for the state Attorney General’s Office, which is defending the state in the case, declined to comment on the judge’s ruling.

An attorney for the families suing the Murphy administration said the judge’s decision only applied to the preliminary request for the temporary restraining order on the mask mandate. He believes there is still a strong chance the school mask rules will eventually be struck down in federal court once the full case is heard.

“I don’t think there is any doubt there is harm from this and there is a First Amendment violation,” said Bruce Afren, the attorney representing the parents and children who sued the state.

Kelly Ford, one of the parents who filed the lawsuit and the founder of the anti-masking group Free NJ Kids, said she is relieved to see the case is moving forward and will get a full hearing.

“The judge’s decision to deny the temporary restraining order was disappointing, as masks are truly harming our kids and the state offered no facts or figures to back up the reason for this mandate. It’s not just the kids (who) are being forced to wear masks all day, it’s the kids who cannot go to school because they are unable to wear a mask,” said Ford, a mother of two children in Barnegat, including a son on the autism spectrum who has trouble communicating if he can’t see a person’s face.

Murphy unveiled an executive order in August mandating that all students from preschool through 12th grade wear masks inside schools for the new school year. Teachers, staff members and school visitors were also told masks were required. Only those with health problems are exempt.

Over the summer, Ford and a group of nearly 20 New Jersey parents and children filed a federal lawsuit against Murphy and his administration challenging the mask mandate. The case, Stephien vs. Murphy, included families from River Vale, Mahwah, Bordentown, Barnegat, West Orange, Middletown, Southampton, Jackson, Old Bridge, Edison and Sparta.

“No state interest rises to a sufficient level to support the mass imposition of the mask mandate and other Covid-related preventative measures on New Jersey schoolchildren, a class of 1.4 million people,” the lawsuit argues.

Masks can also have physical and psychological effects on children when they are told they must wear them all day or face punishment from teachers, the lawsuit said.

In a hearing last week, the attorney representing the parents and children who filed the lawsuit said it was unfair that the state is requiring vaccinated and unvaccinated kids to wear masks for six-hour school days while it is no longer requiring adults to wear masks in offices, churches, supermarkets, restaurants or other indoor spaces.

“If one child would die because we don’t have this mask order, that would be a horrible tragedy for that child and for that family and their friends. But government does not have the right, under any notion of our laws, to impose substantially on the basic liberty interests of the citizens simply to prevent death,” Afran argued in the Sept. 9 hearing.

Daniel Vannella, an assistant attorney general representing the Murphy administration, argued schoolchildren are not singled out. There are also mask requirements in health care settings, nursing homes and other high-risk areas to help save lives.

“The threat of COVID-19, including the Delta variant, is still real. This isn’t just based on CNN articles, your honor. This is based on actual cases, actual people who are getting sick, more people getting sick, more people on ventilators and hospitals, and more people dying,” Vannella told the judge.

New Jersey’s school mask requirements have sparked protests from some parents, students and school districts. Protesters calling for Murphy to “unmask” their kids have demonstrated outside the governor’s events and outside his house in Monmouth County.

Several school districts have also pushed back against the mask rules. Wall Township Board of Education sent Murphy a letter saying mask rules should be decided by individual school districts. Brick, Lacey Township, Toms River and Marlboro were among the districts that made masks temporarily optional during hot weather in recent weeks.

However, a Monmouth University poll taken in August found the majority of New Jerseyans surveyed favored a mask mandate in schools. About 67% of registered voters, and 69% of parents, supported a requirement that students, teachers and staff wear masks, the poll found.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.

Kelly Heyboer may be reached at kheyboer@njadvancemedia.com.