Brickbat: Masks Off

The Simpson County, Mississippi, school district has agreed to settle a federal lawsuit brought by the family of a then-third-grader barred from wearing a face mask with the phrase “Jesus Loves Me” on it. There was actually no policy against wearing such a mask when her principal told Lydia Booth to take it off in 2020. But two days later, the school system adopted a policy banning messages on masks that were “political, religious, sexual or inappropriate symbols, gestures or statements that may be offensive, disruptive or deemed distractive to the school environment.” Under the settlement, the school system agreed to remove that policy and no longer require students to wear masks.