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Arkansas Judge Says State’s Mask Mandate Ban Is Unconstitutional

The decision came amid a nationwide surge of coronavirus cases fueled by the Omicron variant.

An Arkansas judge brought the hammer down Wednesday, ruling the state’s ban on mask mandates is unconstitutional as it discriminates against public and private school students. The decision, issued by Judge Tim Fox, came after his initial stay on the law in August, as private schools were not barred from requiring facial coverings. Once that order was issued, more than 100 public and charter schools across the state issued their own mask mandates to curb the initial spread of the Delta variant, according to the Associated Press. Gov. Asa Hutchinson had signed the ban into law in April, but he has since expressed his regret for doing so and praised the August stay of the law.