Schools sue and mayor defies Arkansas mask mandate ban

Arkansas' ban on mask mandates faces a new legal challenge and defiance from the mayor of the state capital as the state's coronavirus cases continue to spiral

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -- Arkansas’ ban on mask mandates faced new legal challenges -- including from a school district where more than 800 staff and students are quarantining because of a COIVD-19 outbreak -- and defiance from the mayor of the state capital as Republican lawmakers rejected efforts to roll back the prohibition. The Little Rock and Marion school districts asked a state judge to block the law Gov. Asa Hutchinson signed in April prohibiting schools and other governmental bodies from requiring masks. Little Rock's mayor, meanwhile, issued an order requiring masks in the city's public spaces. Hutchinson called the Legislature back into session this week to consider rolling back the ban for schools but faces heavy opposition from fellow Republicans. Hutchinson has faced growing calls to lift the ban as Arkansas' coronavirus cases spiral ahead of classes resuming statewide later this month. But a House committee Thursday rejected two proposals to allow school boards to require masks in buildings where children under 12 may be present. The move means lawmakers on Friday will likely adjourn the session called to revisit the bans without any action on the issue.