Even though Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt from his lawsuits seeking to prevent schools from enforcing COVID-19 safety measures, one Kansas City-area school district is forging ahead, testing how much power Schmitt鈥檚 office can exercise in health emergencies.
After Schmitt sued the Lee鈥檚 Summit School District in January to rescind rules meant to mitigate the risk of coronavirus transmission in schools, the district fired back with a counterclaim arguing that Schmitt鈥檚 鈥渂ullying鈥� behavior threatened the balance of authority between state and school district officials.
In a nutshell, the district is now asking a Jackson County judge to decide once and for all whether Schmitt acted within his authority to demand that schools stop requiring children to wear masks during the pandemic. It鈥檚 an authority that Schmitt as he successfully ran for U.S. Senate this year but one that the school district claims Schmitt is now seeking to avoid defending in court.
Last month, the district urged the judge in the case to 鈥渘ot shy away from shutting down Schmitt鈥檚 effort to arrogate authority to himself where he has none.鈥�
A spokesman for the attorney general鈥檚 office did not respond to a request for comment or offer an explanation why Schmitt isn鈥檛 eager for a judicial decision on whether he has authority over school district public health policies.
In a court filing last week, Schmitt asked that a judge dismiss the district鈥檚 counterclaim, arguing there鈥檚 nothing left to sort out in court now that the district no longer requires students to wear masks.
But in their brief, the district鈥檚 lawyers said that the COVID-19 threat remains, as well as higher-than-usual cases of flu and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), which may necessitate public health measures in the future. So it wants clarity on whether the attorney general has the authority, as he asserted in his multiple lawsuits against school districts, to intervene if that were to occur.
鈥淪chmitt has never changed his position or withdrawn his prior orders,鈥� attorneys for the Lee鈥檚 Summit district asserted. 鈥淚nstead, he is doubling down 鈥� gaslighting the District for suggesting that it remains under threat or in a dispute with Schmitt.鈥�
Joe Hatley, an attorney for the Lee鈥檚 Summit School District, said in an email that 鈥渨e tried to explain in our briefing why the District felt it was important to continue with the counterclaim.鈥� He declined to comment further, noting the case was awaiting a decision by the judge.
Schmitt鈥檚 office in Missouri in January, when the highly transmissible omicron variant of the coronavirus led to a severe spike in infections.
At the time, Schmitt鈥檚 office argued that school districts had no authority to issue public health orders for schoolchildren and that issuing mask requirements 鈥渃reates a barrier to education that far outweighs any speculative benefit.鈥�
At the outset of the pandemic, Schmitt and Chinese Communist Party, blaming them for the COVID-19 pandemic and claiming they lied about the dangers and contagious nature of the virus. The COVID-19 virus originated in China.
鈥淐OVID-19 has done irreparable damage to countries across the globe, causing sickness, death, economic disruption, and human suffering,鈥� . 鈥淚n Missouri, the impact of the virus is very real 鈥� thousands have been infected and many have died, families have been separated from dying loved ones, small businesses are shuttering their doors, and those living paycheck to paycheck are struggling to put food on their table.鈥�
Yet in his lawsuit against Lee鈥檚 Summit, Schmitt鈥檚 office argued that 鈥淐OVID-19 is not a serious health risk for the vast majority of the population 鈥� and especially for young adults and children.鈥�
A federal judge this year dismissed Schmitt鈥檚 lawsuit against the Chinese government and Chinese Communist Party, saying he has no jurisdiction over foreign governments.
Schmitt鈥檚 office withdrew its own complaint against the Lee鈥檚 Summit School District in March. The district last month said that Schmitt鈥檚 office withdrew his complaint to avoid 鈥渉aving to prosecute his meritless claims.鈥�
The district then responded with its counterclaim, asking the judge to decide whether Schmitt can impose his will on school districts in contravention of public health orders, telling the judge: 鈥淭he Court should not be fooled by Schmitt鈥檚 鈥榟eads I win, tails you lose鈥� approach.鈥�
