Arizona Supreme Court ruling gives school districts options for mask mandate

State schools can now require masks in spite of some lawmakers' wishes - 13 On Your Side's Luis Lopez reports

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) - When the Arizona Legislature passed its budget over the summer, it prevented school districts from enforcing mask mandates.

However, thanks to a state Supreme Court ruling, those mandates are now up to the districts. A recent ruling states that it was unconstitutional for the mandate to be included in the budget, meaning schools across the state are now free to do what they want.

Crane Elementary School district and the Yuma Union High School District tell KYMA they will continue to make masks optional for staff and students. A decision that some parents, like Jonathan Lee Porter, are comfortable with.

“I appreciate Yuma being unique and us being a community, and I’m glad that most of the districts today agree that it’s up to the parents and how it should be, so I feel good being in Yuma and I think we’ll be protected," Porter said.

Tom Tyree, the Yuma County School Superintendent, feels that each district's governing boards are making masks optional because they feel it’s what the community wants.

“What their decision should be, because they’re elected representatives of their communities, their decisions should, I think, represent what the beliefs and wishes and thoughts of the district are."

The original ban on mask mandates came in August. When Arizona Governor Doug Ducey threatened to block funding if schools enforced a mandate.