SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Later today, Springfield Public Schools (SPS) will have a special board meeting. The topic? Bringing masks back to the classroom.

The school board will have a closed meeting at 7:45 a.m. at the Kraft Administration Building. Later on, at 11 a.m. there’s going to be a public meeting.

SPS’ school board will talk about a temporary mask mandate for staff and students. If the district were to enact another mask mandate, it would be from January 31 through February 18.  

Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt has already threatened SPS with another lawsuit if they enact another mandate. The district is currently dealing with a lawsuit from November of 2021 when Schmitt sued SPS over concerns about critical race theory being taught in classrooms. At a Greene County court hearing on January 27, Judge Mark Powell provided an update on the matter.

Schmitt will have to amend and resubmit a lawsuit against SPS if he wants it heard in court. Judge Powell said the lawsuit is burdened with political content and added that he’ll only hear whether the district lived up to its obligations regarding the open records law.

SPS says it is up to its board on whether there will be a mask vote today.

OzarksFirst will provide updates as more information becomes available.