Ky. AG Daniel Cameron urges JCPS to end required mask mandate

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) - Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron penned an open letter to the commonwealth’s largest school district to end its mandatory mask mandate.

The letter was sent to Jefferson County Public Schools on Tuesday, which said Cameron’s office is looking into whether the school district has the ability to impose its mask mandate.

Cameron said in the letter the mask mandate “harms children, unduly burdens teachers, and is bad public policy.”

The letter cited a study from Brown University, stating COVID-related rules, including masking, led to a 23% drop in children’s cognitive development, a 30% drop in verbal development and more than a 20% drop in non-verbal development.

The National Library of Medicine states the study has not been peer reviewed and is instead a draft for research that has not yet been certified.

Cameron also mentions in the letter the mandate makes the task of teaching children even harder “because our teachers will inevitably bear the burden of enforcing the mandate.” He also said mask mandates are in question when the “efficacy of masking children is unproven.”

According to the CDC, “schools might need to require masking in settings such as classrooms or during activities to protect students with immunocompromising conditions or other conditions that increase their risk for getting very sick with COVID-19 in accordance with applicable federal, state, or local laws and policies.”

JCPS said it would follow CDC and state health guidance in its recommendations for the new school year, including requiring universal masking indoors and on school buses if the county’s community level was in “the red,” or high risk category.

The guidance went into effect on July 25 after Jefferson County entered “high risk” status.

Read the full letter below:

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