Judge Denies Temporary Restraining Order Proposed By Parents Of Edmond Students

Edmond Public Schools is speaking out after a judge ruled Friday their quarantine policies will remain in place for at least another 12 days. 

Friday, September 17th 2021, 5:43 pm



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Edmond Public Schools is speaking out after a judge ruled Friday their quarantine policies will remain in place for at least another 12 days. 

For a judge to issue a restraining order on a policy like the one the Edmond parents wanted, attorneys had to prove that someone is being seriously harmed by that policy.

In the courtroom, Oklahoma County judge Don Andrews said Friday he needed more evidence before he could issue an injunction. 

"Today’s court ruling honored the very heart of Edmond Schools' desire to follow COVID related protocols given to us by public health experts to keep students and staff safe,” a statement from Edmond Public Schools said Friday.

EPS’ quarantine policy was put in place after positive COVID cases at the district spiked rapidly within the first few days of the school year. 

A group of EPS parents are taking the district to court over policies that require unvaccinated kids to quarantine at home if they are exposed to a positive COVID case. The case was filed in mid-August.

“My son particularly, Spanish and English, those are the issues he is struggling with because of this quarantine policy. He’s not gotten sick,” EPS parent and case plaintiff Brian Shellem said.

Attorneys for the Edmond parents don’t agree that students are safer with the policy. They said Edmond schools has broken the law and violated students’ constitutional rights, which is one form of legal harm. 

“That has to be distinguished from the irreparable harm of these students, their mental health and emotional issues,” plaintiffs attorney Stan Ward said. “There are two types of irreparable harm that we intended to address.”  

A brief will be filed within the next week by Edmond schools, pushing back on claims that student’s constitutional rights are being violated by the quarantine policy. 

The judge is going to hear more evidence and decide Sept. 29 on whether or not this rule needs to be paused until the lawsuit its resolved. 

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