Families threaten to sue Cobb County Schools over lack of COVID safety measures
COBB COUNTY, Ga. - Attorneys for several families in Cobb County say they plan to sue the school district if it does not implement COVID-19 safety measures.
The letter, which was sent on behalf of families of children with disabilities, urges the Cobb County School Board to modify its policy by next week.
Currently, the school district does not require students or staff to wear masks in schools and on buses.
The attorneys claim the policy is keeping students with special needs from attending school in person.
"The district's decision to not implement CDC COVID mitigation guidelines is causing parents of students with significant medical conditions to make an impossible choice: their child's education or their child's lives," said Allison Vrolijk of the Law Office of Allison B. Vrolijk. "This unconscionable position can be easily remedied through measures taken by innumerable other school districts across Georgia, but the Cobb County Superintendent and School Board have chosen not to. We hope that they do the right thing and show that they care about the health and well-being of all of their students."
In the letter, the families and attorneys argue that the decision to not implement safety precautions is "rooted in discrimination and systematic racism."
"These officials continue to put politics ahead of Cobb County’s diverse student population, and propaganda ahead of public health and common-sense science," said Mike Tafelski, SPLC senior supervising attorney. "We are asking these Board members and Superintendent Ragsdale to put their politics and biases aside and consider the needs of the students they were selected to serve."
Cobb County students are currently on fall break.
They are set to return on Monday.
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