THE NEW LAW VIOLATES THE CONSTITUTION’S ‘SINGLE SUBJECT’ RULE
While Governor Ducey and Director Christ have made dozens of damaging and head-scratching decisions throughout the pandemic, few are as profoundly puzzling as their support of the new law that prevents K-12 school districts from being able to protect their students by requiring masks in the classroom.
The state legislature prohibited school districts from requiring students to wear masks inside classrooms (or anywhere for that matter) in the K-12 budget bill. Governor Ducey enthusiastically signed the bill and Director Christ expressed no concern whatsoever about preventing districts from requiring masks (despite CDC guidance and tons of evidence for this important protective measure).
The restriction even includes kids in grades K-5 who won’t have access to a vaccine until November. Masking, symptom checks, distancing, increased ventilation, and excluding kids sick with COVID-19 and their unvaccinated close contacts are the only tools that elementary schools have right now to keep kids safe. Now, masking is off the table.
Governor Ducey signed the K-12 budget bill banning schools from requiring masking indoors even though it’s the highest ROI intervention that they have until the kids have access to a vaccine. Astonishingly, Director Christ expressed no concern whatsoever about the Governor’s prohibition of this effective infection control practice. Not only did she not speak up during the legislative session, she didn’t urge the governor to veto the law.
Now that this harmful ban is law are school districts hands really tied?
There may be a pathway to overturn this harmful restriction that will threaten the health of kids, but it will take going to court.
Arizona’s Constitution requires every bill to have a ‘single subject’. The Constitution protects us from legislators passing bills that are about multiple unrelated topics. This new law obviously violates the AZ Constitution’s ‘single subject’ rule AZ Const. Article 4, Part 2, § 13. Here’s what the Constitution says:
13. Subject and title of bills
Section 13. Every act shall embrace but one subject and matters properly connected therewith, which subject shall be expressed in the title; but if any subject shall be embraced in an act which shall not be expressed in the title, such act shall be void only as to so much thereof as shall not be embraced in the title.
The K-12 Budget Reconciliation Bill that Ducey signed and that Christ supports stopping districts from requiring masks (15-342.05. Face coverings; requirement prohibition: A school district governing board may not require the use of face coverings by students or staff…) has NOTHING to do with the funding of schools and is therefore in clear violation of the constitution.
However, the courts can’t intervene and stop this damaging micromanagement of schools unless somebody challenges the language in ARS § 15-342.05, arguing that the provision is in violation of the state constitution.
We need a courageous school district to take the Governor and Director Christ to court and challenge ARS § 15-342.05.
If a judge looks at the language in the constitution and the K-12 Budget Reconciliation Bill objectively, I expect her or him to issue a Preliminary Injunction or Restraining Order and allow districts to make their own decisions about whether, when, and where students need to wear masks while on campus this fall.