A California judge has rejected a campaign group's request for a temporary restraining order against the state's mask mandate for schoolchildren enforced by Governor Gavin Newsom.
San Diego County Superior Court Judge Cynthia Freeland denied the request made by the organization Let Them Breathe at a court hearing on September 30.
Let Them Breathe and another group called Reopen California Schools filed a lawsuit against the state in July opposing the mandate.
Both groups believe that the mandate was harmful to the students and that the COVID protocols being enforced were not supported by science.
Let Them Breathe will have the chance to push its case again at a full hearing scheduled for November 8.
But Judge Freeland struck down their application for a restraining order against Newsom's mandate after saying kids had been back for weeks with no issues.
San Diego Judge Cynthia Freeland denied the request from campaign group Let Them Breathe who wanted to file a temporary restraining order against the state's mask mandate for schools
Newsom praised the court's decision as he believes the mandate will keep students safe and schools open
'Here we are, Sept. 30th, school has started, kids have been in school with masks and the protocols have been in place,' Freeland said on Thursday.
'So I'm not seeing an emergency today that would warrant issuing an emergency restraining order.'
Newsom, who has been enforcing COVID protocols, applauded Freeland and the court's decision in a written statement.
'We are pleased that the court agreed with our argument that blocking the continued implementation of the universal masking requirement for K-12 schools was unwarranted at this time,' he wrote.
'Our guidance is firmly grounded in science and has been a critical component of our efforts to support the safe return to in-person learning for all students this school year.
'Recent studies confirm that schools with universal masking requirements are much less likely to experience outbreaks, confirming that masking is a critical strategy to keep students safe and schools open.
Newsom had announced an additional vaccine mandate for schoolchildren on Friday and said that students 12 and over must get the shot in order to attend in-person classes.
Let Them Breathe and fellow organization Reopen California Schools released a statement and said that in the state's opposition filing that quarantine and testing protocols are not required
Sharon McKeeman, the founder of Let Them Breathe, spoke to KPBS after the court's decision was made.
'We knew that it might be difficult to get that emergency restarting order, but obviously our kids are suffering behind these masks,' she said.
'We want this to happen as quickly as possible, but I am thankful that we are going to be having that full hearing at the start of November.'
McKeeman added in a release that their group was given a court hearing for November 8 after being initially set for a March 2022 date.
Judge Freeland believes the current hearing date will allow both the state and the organizations to justify their arguments.
'This is not something that anyone should approach lightly and I want everyone to have sufficient time to be able to provide all the necessary information because this is a significant issue,' Freeland said.
The group plans to also challenge the new vaccine mandate that is being implemented by Newsom.
Let It Breathe founder Sharon McKeeman announced that the group was given a hearing date for November 8
Reopen California Schools also gave a statement of their own to support the decision for the choice to wear masks rather than enforcing a mandate.
'While one of our arguments against the state is there should be more local control on these issues, we still believe all students and teachers should have mask choice and any locality enforcing mask mandates at school is ignoring the data and the harms of such policies.'
The state of California became the first in the US to mandate a vaccine for students over 12, which has sparked controversy since it was announced by Newsom on Friday.
Social media users and school parents noted that young children were not that susceptible to the virus or its effects.
The decision was also criticized for giving teachers the option to either show proof of getting the vaccine or being tested at least once a week.
'Kids must get vaccine, but teacher don't have to. The lesson? Kids need a better union,' one person tweeted.
Newsom announced a vaccine mandate for students 12 and up in California schools on Friday
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