The Oklahoma Supreme Court struck down the governor’s influence over school mask mandates in an opinion issued Tuesday, ruling in favor of doctors and parents who challenged a state law that at one point effectively blocked masking requirements in public schools.
The court decided a crucial provision in Senate Bill 658 that made school mask mandates contingent on the governor declaring a state of emergency is “impermissible” and denies school districts local control.
The decision means public schools wouldn’t have to wait for a governor’s emergency order to require face coverings, though few schools, if any, still mandate them.
