COBB COUNTY, Ga. — A lawsuit being brought by Cobb County parents against the county's school system over its mask mandate policy was handed an initial defeat in court on Wednesday.
The group of parents say the Cobb County School District has "over stepped" with its mask policy, which requires students to wear them while in school.
Their lawsuit contends the mask policy constitutes a "continual and daily violation of the Constitutional rights of the student population and their caregivers."
A federal court in the Northern District of Atlanta has not weighed in on that claim as a final matter, but denied the parents an immediate end to the policy by rejecting requests for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction.
Granting such a request would have required the school district to lift the policy while the lawsuit plays out in court. By rejecting it, the policy will be left in place until a final court decision is made.
The Cobb School District said in a statement that "while we cannot comment on ongoing litigation, we are confident the facts and law will speak for themselves.”
Last week, the parents told 11Alive's Natisha Lance that they had concerns about how wearing a mask all day might impact their children's development, and said they felt the district was going beyond their authority with a mandate.
"The impacts to his social development, the physical impact of him wearing a mask we just don’t think the cost of those equals the benefits," father Matthew Gill told Natisha.
The school district defended the policy, saying in a statement that "the safety of Cobb students and staff is our first priority and we will not let this frivolous lawsuit distract us from that commitment. This lawsuit is a distraction and costs valuable taxpayer funds. We need to work together, as a community, during this global pandemic."