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Madison Mask Lawsuit
Madison Mask Lawsuit
ELECTRONICALLY FILED
2/3/2022 6:37 PM
47-CV-2022-900143.00
CIRCUIT COURT OF
MADISON COUNTY, ALABAMA
DEBRA KIZER, CLERK
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Come now the Plaintiffs, SHEMA RIZO, as next friend and on behalf of her
children, J.R., S.R., G.R.; WILLIAM and SARA PARKER, by and as next friend of their
children, T.P., A.P.; MIKE and CARRIE GILES, by and as next friend of their children,
A.G., D.G.; PAUL and MICHELLE LAMBERTSON, by and as next friend of their
children, M.L., B.L.; JOSEPH and ASHLEY DENNIS, by and as next friend of their
children, J.D., J.D., H.D., C.D.; DESIREE ROSCH, by and as next friend of her children,
A.R., D.R.; ERIK and MICHELE SPLAWN, by and as next friend of their child, P.S.;
THERESA MILLER, by and as next friend of her children, A.M., A.M.; and RICHARD
and CANDICE ANDREWS, by and as next friend of their children, N.A., A.A., pursuant
to the Alabama Declaratory Judgment Act, Alabama Code §6-6-220, et seq., and
respectfully request this Honorable Court to declare, adjudge and decree that the face
force and effect, is void and imposes on the Plaintiffs and their children no requirement
that they wear at all times or any time face masks while attending Madison City Schools.
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1. All Plaintiffs herein are citizens and residents of Madison County, Alabama, live
in the municipality of Madison, Alabama, and have their children enrolled in Madison
City Schools.
City Schools and chief executive officer of the city Board of Education and he
Schools wear face masks while present in City of Madison public schools.
GREG HULSEY, and ALICE LESSMAN are members of the Madison City Schools
4. Jurisdiction and venue for this case is proper in the Circuit Court of Madison
County because all parties hereto live and work in Madison County, and the events
described in this complaint occurred and continue to occur in Madison County, Alabama.
Relevant Facts.
5. Prior to August 2, 2021, the children of all of the Plaintiffs were enrolled in
Madison, Alabama.
6. Prior thereto, many of the Plaintiffs had engaged in studies regarding the
benefits, risks and harms caused by the wearing of face masks by school age children, and
had concluded that face masks do not protect children against the transmission of
COVID-19, and were in fact harmful to children who wore them. As a result, many of the
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Plaintiffs became determined to oppose any face mask mandate if the same was imposed
Madison City Schools Revised Reentry Plan, imposed a requirement that students
attending Madison City Schools wear at all times face masks while so attending its
schools: “Therefore, with this new information, I am going to mandate masks at this time
for all students and staff in the Madison City School District when they are inside school
buildings effective August 4. I believe that this is the safest and least disruptive decision
for our MCS Family. Of course, there will be occasions when masks will need to be
8. Since August 4, 2021, and as a result of the face mask mandate imposed by
Defendant NICHOLS, the Plaintiffs’ children have been compelled to wear face masks at
9. On numerous occasions since August 4, 2021, the Plaintiffs and other parties
rescind such face mask mandate, all of which efforts have proven futile.
10. RIZO’S son, J.R., started getting headaches after wearing a face mask at school,
and he also uses a doctor-prescribed inhaler. RIZO has been in routine contact with the
Madison City Schools Superintendent, DR. NICHOLS, seeking an exemption from the
mask requirement for her son. DR. NICHOLS has responded that J.R. would not be
exempted from the face mask requirement due to headaches or using an inhaler.
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11. The PARKER’S son, T.P., is a member of the Liberty Middle Schools Bands.
When T.P. refused his mask in class, the Assistant Band Director, Mrs. Simms, referred
him to the main band director, Mrs. Rakoff. Mrs. Rakoff then called the Assistant
Principal, Mrs. Odom, who gave T.P. three options: 1) wear a mask, 2) go to isolation, or
3) go home. T.P. said to Mrs. Odom, “I have every right to be here without a mask,” to
November 13, 2021, on behalf of their children, A.G. and D.G., who attend school at
Liberty Middle School and Heritage Elementary School, respectively. The GILESES
informed DR. NICHOLS that A.G. and D.G. would no longer wear masks at school. In
that email, the GILESES notified DR. NICHOLS that face masks are medical devices and
that neither he nor the board members were licensed to practice medicine so they couldn’t
mandate that the children must wear face masks. They also stated that it would be illegal
for the school to segregate their kids from their peers or not give them access to their
(b) On Monday November 15, 2021, D. G. went to his first class of the day at
Liberty Middle School and his teacher for Honors English Language Arts, Ms. LaParis
James, stated that if he did not put on a mask, she would “send him down to the office.”
He didn’t have a mask so she sent him to the office where he was given a mask, after
(c) On Monday November 15, 2021, A.G. walked into Heritage Elementary
without wearing a mask. She was allowed into her classroom by the teacher and was
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doing her morning work when Dr. Georgina Nelson, the school principal, came in and
pointed at A.G., gesturing for her to come downstairs to her office. Dr. Nelson told A. G.
that she was going to call her parents. Ultimately, Dr. Nelson gave A.G. a mask and
13.(a). On Friday, January 14, 2022, the LAMBERTSON’S daughter, M.L., wore a
loose-fitting mask. At school, her mask slipped down below her nose. The principal, Mr.
Hill, came out of his office and yelled at M.L. to pull up her mask, admonishing her, “I
(b) The LAMBERTSON’S son, B.L., was granted a 504 exemption, excusing him
from having to wear a mask in school. On August 18, 2021, B.L. went to his jazz music
studyhall without a mask. The teacher, Mrs. Holden, refused to allow B.L. to enter the
classroom, stating “her classroom is a mask only zone.” B.L. explained his 504 medical
exemption to Mrs. Holden who then escorted B.L. to the front office. Thereafter, B.L.
was not allowed to join that jazz studyhall but was sent to a different one.
(c) On October 22, 2021, B.L. was participating in the CyberPatriot computer
competition at Bob Jones High School, monitored by Maj. Lacey. Maj. Lacey told B.L.
he needed to wear a mask, but B.L. reminded Maj. Lacey that he has a 504
accommodation. Maj. Lacey continued to demand that B.L. either leave or put on a mask,
threatening to call security if he continued to defy her instruction. B.L. and his team were
ultimately moved to a separate room which was not set up for the competition, where they
had to compete without full access to computer files needed for the event.
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14. In August, 2021, ASHLEY DENNIS met with the principal of Columbia
Elementary to express concerns over headaches her son, H.D., experienced after wearing
a face mask for extended periods of time. Mrs. DENNIS showed the school principal
H.D.’s medical release due to asthma, signed by their doctor. Later that day, Mrs.
DENNIS received an email from the principal stating that DR. NICHOLS would not
accept the medical release to excuse H.D. from the face mask requirement. On another
occasion, in October, Mrs. DENNIS received a phone call from the principal informing
her that H.D. had been sent to the office because he was not wearing his mask properly.
H.D. was very distressed for being singled out in front of the classroom and being sent to
15. THERESA MILLER has two children, one of whom is A.M., who attends James
Clemens High School, and A.M., who attends Heritage Elementary School. Both children
have gotten bloody noses from wearing masks at school. Mrs. MILLER’S older child has
asthma and allergies which are aggravated by wearing a mask. He also uses a doctor-
prescribed inhaler and wearing a mask interferes with proper use. Both children
frequently come home with headaches which they attribute to the masks since they do not
16. During the week of December 13-17, 2021, the ANDREWS’S son, N.A., was
walking in the hall between classes at Liberty Middle School when he heard a teacher
yell, “Pull up your mask!” As he passed the teacher in a group of other students, the
teacher reached out and grabbed N.A. by the shoulders, and yelled, “I told you to pull up
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your mask!” N.A. complied, pulling up his mask and explained that he didn’t know that
the teacher was yelling at him as there were many other students in the hall.
17. The statutory authority forming the foundation for this face mask mandate
provides that “The local board of education shall, upon the written recommendation of the
chief executive officer, determine and establish a written educational policy for the board
of education and its employees and shall prescribe rules and regulations for the conduct
18. Another statutory authority forming the foundation for this face mask mandate
follows: “The city board of education is hereby vested with all the powers necessary or
proper for the administration and management of the free public schools within such city
and adjacent territory to the city which has been annexed as a part of the school district
19. Neither Alabama Code § 16-1-30(b), § 16-11-9, or any other statutes that
Defendant NICHOLS may claim as authority for the face mask mandate, applicable to
students enrolled in Madison City Schools, provide the essential lawful authority for him
20. To accord relief to Plaintiffs, it is essential that this court declare whether
Defendant NICHOLS or other Defendants possess, based on the statutory authority noted
above or any other, the authority to impose the face mask mandate applicable to students
Wherefore, the premises considered, Plaintiffs respectfully move this court for a
declaration that Defendants’ face mask mandate as noted above and imposed by means of
DR. NICHOLS’ Madison City Schools Revised Reentry Plan issued on August 2, 2021,
is void, of no force and effect, and is not compulsory. Plaintiffs also request such other,