Parent sues school district, alleges son contracted COVID-19 from classmate

A Wisconsin woman is suing her son’s school district, alleging he contracted COVID-19 from a classmate, The Associated Press reported. 

Shannon Jensen filed the lawsuit against the Waukesha School District and school board in federal court on Oct. 5 and seeking an injunction ordering the district to comply with guidelines from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Jensen’s lawsuit alleges that in May, the school board removed student masking requirements and other COVID-19 restrictions and claims that one of Jensen’s son’s classmates showed coronavirus symptoms but did not wear a mask when he came to school.

Jensen’s son was seated next to the symptomatic classmate and, despite wearing a mask himself, became infected with the virus, according to the lawsuit. Later on, two of Jensen’s other children also became ill with COVID-19. 

The lawsuit is being funded by the Minocqua Brewing Company Super PAC. The company is owned by Kirk Bangstad, who has criticized the Trump administration’s handling of the pandemic. He unsuccessfully ran last year against an incumbent GOP state representative, Rob Swearingen.

Thanks for getting the facts it there, @js_politics

The Waukesha School district ended many of its pandemic mitigation efforts. Then her son got sick. Now, she’s suing.https://t.co/NzffOaHtdB

— MBCbrews (@MBCbrews) October 9, 2021

The PAC also issued a fiery statement on the lawsuit on its blog, addressing the many press inquiries about the legal effort. 

“Our goal all along was to bring a class action lawsuit against all school districts in Wisconsin that weren’t protecting kids, teachers, and communities, but we had to start somewhere,” it said. 

Schools have become a battleground for pandemic politics, with many Republican officials across the country pushing back against masking requirements and even trying to ban school districts from imposing their own rules.