A legal strategy, aiming to force school districts across the United States to end mask mandates, was threatened by Santa Clarita parents during Wednesday’s William S. Hart Union High School District Governing Board meeting that abruptly shut down due to anti-mask protests. 

The Hart District board was preparing to discuss whether or not the district should formally announce its support to ask the state for more autonomy in creating their own health protocols when three anti-mask protestors came before the board with freedom-denoting signs in hand. 

Seated in front of the board as the board members transitioned into discussing mask mandate protocols, one of the women started chanting “no more masks.”

“Before the meeting and we’ve been doing this before every meeting, the board voted to agree that if there was any disruption, that the meeting would be paused for 30 minutes and be started again as a virtual meeting,” said Dave Caldwell, spokesperson for the Hart District. “When the protest began, that was enacted and the board was disbursed.”

The meeting resumed online within 30 minutes and the public protestors were said to have left the meeting room on their own accord without being escorted or arrested, according to Caldwell.

Before the regularly scheduled meeting came to an abrupt end, a legal strategy that has been resorted to across the United States to end mask mandates was threatened during an open session. 

“Today, you are being served an ‘intent to file’ claim against your insurance policies which allow you to do this job,” said a parent in the Hart District. ”If we do not solve these issues tonight regarding mask mandates, vaccine mandates, etc., we will be forced within seven days from today to file these claims.”

The Bonds For the Win website tells parents they can threaten to file “surety bond claims” or “liability insurance coverage” claims against school board members and superintendents accusing them of violating laws unless they make changes including dropping mask requirements.

“Maybe you’re not aware, when these are filed, all of your federal and state funding will stop immediately,” the parent said. “This will include the entire Hart District. All of your money will be frozen, you will be forced to resign your positions from your insurer and you personally will find it difficult to find employment or insurance for years to come.”

This approach, first recommended by QAnon supporters in North Carolina, has been attempted in multiple counties in multiple states. 

Papers had been served to school districts in Catawba, Iredell, Johnston and Wake Counties regarding mask mandates and each legal threat has proven unsuccessful as of Thursday. 

“We do not want this, we do not want the personal effort of your lives like this, but if you want to keep torturing our children, we will be forced to,” the parent said. “Vote on this in front of everyone here to end all these political mandates.”

Joe Messina, the president of the Hart District governing board explained how California school districts differ from other states attempting to file liability insurance coverage claims to reduce masking protocols in an interview with KHTS on Thursday. 

“Different states have different control,” Messina said during the interview. “Pennsylvania and Colorado, for example, have decided what to do with masks based on the power that they have. We really don’t have that type of power.”

With the L.A. County holding heavy influence on school district decisions, the Hart District is given five history books to choose from, while school districts in other states have full autonomy on which books and materials they can choose from, according to Messina. 

“To the parents coming up to us saying ‘get rid of the mask,’ I would be in 100 percent support,” Messina said. “But because of county regulations, we would get fined up to 1000 a day.”

Just before the meeting was moved online due to the mask mandate protests, the board was set to decide whether or not to draft a letter to ask for “the autonomy to give us our power back and let us adhere to state standards instead of county standards,” Messina said. 

See Related: ​​Outdoor Mask Mandate Repealed In L.A. County

The legal threat comes a day after the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (Public Health) repealed the outdoor mask mandate that applies to all schools in Santa Clarita as well as all outdoor mega events, according to Public Health officials.

“Hart District students will no longer be required to wear masks outdoors starting (Wednesday),” read a statement from Superintendent Mike Kuhlman with the Hart District. “Those of us charged with implementing health protocols share your frustration over the apparent lack of consistency of the rules. Nevertheless, as a public school district, it is our responsibility to listen respectfully to all sides of this issue while implementing required protocols.”

In accordance with L.A. County guidelines, masking indoors is still required regardless of vaccination status for an unknown duration.

The next reduction in masking protocols is expected to come once the region sees two consecutive weeks at or below moderate transmission, as defined by the California Department of Disease Control and Prevention, according to Public Health officials. 

As of Wednesday, Public Health has reported L.A. County’s entry into post-surge levels as hospitalizations have not exceeded 2,500 for the seventh consecutive day, according to Public Health. 

With L.A. County considered post-surge and on track to loosen mask restrictions, the Hart District has continued to mull over drafting a letter to legislation in their shared opposition of K-12 vaccination requirements, according to Hart District officials. 

Similar to the decision made last week by the Newhall School District and Sulphur Spring School District governing boards, the letter would ask legislators to “give us our autonomy back” when it comes to making district health and safety decisions, according to Messina. 

The drafting of the letter vote, as well as five additional agenda items, were ultimately tabled for the next regularly scheduled meeting on March 2 as a result of disturbances Wednesday night. 

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