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ALPENA– A legal challenge to an Alpena Public Schools face mask requirement has fallen as Judge Ed Black of the 26th Circuit Court dismissed a parent group’s lawsuit.

That lawsuit continued even after the district in mid-February dropped its mask mandate as the number of reported COVID-19 infections fell in Northeast Michigan.

Calling itself Freedom to Breathe, the anonymous group claimed the district lacked authority to force students to wear masks or to punish them for not doing so.

Freedom to Breathe attorney David Delaney did not prove that masks constitute compulsory medical treatment, and school districts have the right to address “unsafe conditions and the overall well-being of students,” Black said in his written opinion dismissing the suit.

As allowed by court rules, Delaney on Friday filed paperwork asking Black to reconsider the dismissed lawsuit, saying the mask mandate violated constitutional separation of powers.

By creating rules about masking, quarantining, and social distancing, the district improperly assumed the role of the legislative branch of government instead of the executive branch, which cannot write laws, Delaney told The News.

The 40 Alpena-area parents part of Freedom to Breathe “feel very strongly about their constitutional rights,” the attorney said. “They want elected officials to make decisions for them, not unelected officials.”

The group will return to court in June, when Black will consider Delaney’s motion.

Julie Riddle can be reached at 989-358-5693, jriddle@thealpenanews.com or on Twitter @jriddleX.