Sen. Matt Castlen called Gov. Andy Beshear’s new mask mandate for schools another overreach of power, while State Rep. Suzanne Miles said she thinks the governor’s action shows a lack of faith in local leaders to be responsible. Legal action is expected to be taken today.
On Tuesday, Beshear signed an executive order that requires everyone age 2 and older to wear a mask while indoors in all public and private child care centers along with pre-K and K-12 schools, regardless of vaccination status. The order includes a list of exemptions.
Beshear said the mandate runs for 30 days but can be renewed. The governor said after the initial 30 days they will assess the situation to determine if the mandate should be renewed.
In a series of tweets Tuesday night, Attorney General Daniel Cameron wrote, “We received a copy of the Governor’s order mandating masks for schools and childcare centers shortly before 5:00pm today and are actively reviewing it. … As Kentucky’s chief law officer, our office must ensure that the rule of law is upheld during this pandemic. This means protecting the law-making prerogative of the General Assembly and respecting the judicial power of our courts. … We will have more to say about this issue in a filing tomorrow with the Kentucky Supreme Court.”
Castlen, who introduced Senate Bill 1 this year to curtail the governor’s powers to issue executive orders, said Tuesday’s mandate was another example of why the senator filed the legislation.
“All I can say is that the laws passed by the General Assembly in the previous session were to guard from so-called leaders like our egotistical governor from stealing people’s liberties and infringing on personal rights,” Castlen said. “(He issued this order) while waiting on a ruling from our Kentucky Supreme Court on Senate Bill 1 that would limit executive powers during an emergency. His executive order today was an absolute overreach of power. This should be the choice of our parents, not the government.”
Senate Bills 1 and 2, along with House Bill 1, all implement limitations on the power of the governor during an emergency. Beshear vetoed the legislation, but the vetoes were easily overridden.
Beshear then filed a lawsuit claiming the new laws were an unconstitutional infringement upon a governor’s executive powers. A Franklin Circuit Judge granted Beshear’s motion for a temporary injunction, meaning the judge temporarily blocked the implementation of all three bills.
There has not been a ruling either way — though one was expected later this month — regarding a governor’s executive powers, though Beshear issued the new mask order Tuesday.
Prior to the new mandate, Beshear and the Kentucky Department of Education said they planned to leave the decision on mask requirements up to each school district.
Miles said that’s how it should have stayed.
“Local school districts across the state have carefully considered this issue and made decisions aimed at meeting the needs of their students,” Miles said. “The governor should respect their authority and support their decision-making process with information, data, and resources.”
Miles said the legislature recognized the importance of empowering local government bodies — including school boards — because they are closest to the people they serve and have the most flexibility in making and updating decisions.
“For example, some school boards have updated their initial decision in response to increasing infection rates — and they didn’t need the governor to tell them to do it,” she said. “I have faith in our own people to be responsible, apparently Gov. Beshear does not.”
When announcing the mandate, Beshear cited the rising number of cases along with guidance from health agencies at the local to federal level.
“We are in the midst of the fastest surge that we have ever seen during COVID right now,” he said. “This move is supported by medical organizations, local health department leaders, businesses and education leaders. It is also supported by the Kentucky Chamber, representing 3,800 member businesses across the commonwealth. This is a united front of saving lives, keeping our kids in school and keeping our economy and workforce going.”
Clay Horton, Green River District Health Department Director, said he completely backs the decision to mask.
“I don’t know a single health department director anywhere who would tell you anything contrary to this,” he said. “We’ve seen COVID spread in every conceivable setting. We know how hard it is to control. We know a significant portion of our student population doesn’t even have the ability to get vaccinated. We see how rampant it’s running in our communities now. Anyone who thought that not using masks in schools — in the current environment we have — is anywhere in the conceivable possibility, just doesn’t know what they’re talking about. This would not work without masks, period.”
Horton also said he doesn’t think the Health Department will have to play a major role in the implementation of the mandate, saying he thinks schools already do a good job of enforcing other types of policies.
“I don’t think that enforcement is going to be an issue at all,” he said. “I think the schools are capable of enforcing all sorts of rules.”
More guidance for schools is expected later this week.
The Kentucky Board of Education is meeting Thursday specifically to consider an emergency regulation related to face coverings in schools.
“With strong and consistent precautions in place, Kentucky’s schools have proven that we can safely open for in-person instruction,” Commissioner of Education Jason Glass said in an email Tuesday. “The governor’s executive order and the Kentucky Board of Education’s pending emergency regulation to require masking both put the health and learning of Kentucky’s children first, and I support them unconditionally.”
