A group of Arizona state lawmakers on Wednesday urged Governor Doug Ducey to take direct action against school districts that have seemingly ignored a new state law that prevents mask mandates.
In total, 26 legislators called on Ducey to withhold funding from school districts with mask mandates and authorize temporary school vouchers for students in the districts with mandates.
“Under Arizona’s constitutional form of government, local governments do not have the authority or power to usurp state law simply because they disagree, yet that is precisely the kind of illegal activity in which many local governments are presently engaged,” the group wrote in a letter to Ducey.
The group argued that the direct disregard should warrant a harsh response from the state leaders.
“The blatant disregard for the State of Arizona’s authority exhibited by the non-compliant local governments is an affront to the very core of our state and nation’s form of government. A resounding message must be delivered to any local government or subdivision of the state considering defying state law—lawlessness will not be tolerated,” the group continued.
Throughout Arizona, ten school districts have issued mask regulations, including in the state’s largest two cities, Phoenix and Tucson.
“While Gov. Ducey and the state Legislature has decided to ignore the advice of our public health experts and endanger our community, we can’t sit idle and watch COVID inevitably spread throughout our schools and devastate so many TUSD families,” said Tucson Unified School District (TUSD) board member Ravi Grivois-Shah during an emergency Governing Board meeting. “This is why I will support, along with my colleagues, a requirement to have masks on TUSD campuses and authorize TUSD to enforce this.”
Furthermore, all three of the state’s largest universities have mandated mask requirements for their students.
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Cooper Moran is a reporter for The Star News Network. Follow Cooper on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
