BENTONVILLE -- Three parents who sued the School District last month seeking to overturn its mask mandate withdrew their lawsuit Thursday, but their attorney said they plan to refile it.
Matthew Bennett, Elizabeth Bennett and Matt Sitton were listed as plaintiffs in the lawsuit. All three have children attending Bentonville schools, according to court documents.
The School Board, during a special meeting Aug. 11, voted 5-2 to require masks indoors and on buses for staff and students 3 and older, in an effort to prevent the spread of covid-19. The board intends to reevaluate the policy at its Sept. 21 meeting.
The lawsuit argued the district didn't have the legal authority to require wearing masks in schools and the decision violates the personal liberties of families secured by the U.S. and Arkansas constitutions. The lawsuit called for a temporary block of the mask mandate detailed in the 2021-22 Bentonville Safe Schools Plan until a judgment could be made in the case.
The lawsuit, filed Aug. 18 in Benton County Circuit Court, named Superintendent Debbie Jones and all seven School Board members as defendants. The district got the case moved to federal court because of the claim Bentonville's policy violated the U.S. Constitution, according to Marshall Ney, an attorney for the district.
Ney filed a 24-page motion to dismiss the lawsuit Thursday. Shortly after that, he said, the plaintiffs filed a voluntary dismissal of the case.
Travis Story and Gregory Payne, both of Story Law Firm, represent the plaintiffs.
Story said the lawsuit is being refiled in Benton County.
"This is a state issue not a federal issue. The proper jurisdiction to decide this matter is in state circuit, then if necessary State Supreme Court," Story wrote in an email Thursday to the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
Ney said he believes the School Board acted within its authority and that its policy would have been upheld by the federal court.
A Pulaski County circuit judge Aug. 6 ruled a state law banning mask mandates for public institutions -- including school districts, universities, cities and counties -- was unconstitutional and issued a preliminary injunction against its enforcement.
The decision prompted many school districts throughout the state to impose mask mandates. Most of the 15 school districts in Benton and Washington counties have adopted some form of mask mandate for this school year.
The Bentonville district Thursday reported 60 active cases of covid-19 among its students and staff members, representing about 0.3% of the 20,876 students and employees combined. A total of 172 students and staff were in quarantine Thursday.
Public debate over mask mandates in schools has been widespread this year and led to legal battles in several states, including Arkansas.
A Lonoke County Circuit Judge Barbara Elmore last month declined to issue a temporary restraining order to stop the Cabot School District's 30-day mask policy, which requires all staff and students in kindergarten through 12th grade to wear face coverings while at school. Eight parents had filed a lawsuit against the Cabot district stating the mandate was unenforceable and that the School Board didn't have the authority to create it. Story represented the parents in that case as well.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is recommending universal mask wearing in schools. People under 12 years old remain ineligible for covid-19 vaccines.