Tri-City law firm offers refunds for its $100 school mask exemption letters
A Kennewick lawyer, who offered exemption letters so children didn’t have to wear masks in school, is now giving refunds.
“With the new regulations coming down, unfortunately our loophole has been effectively closed,” the Celski Law Firm said on its Facebook page. “We will be sending back refund checks to all who have paid.”
For $100, Jason A. Celski’s law firm offered to prepare a formal document that parents could file with a school district, declaring why a mask was a risk to their child.
He was relying on K-12 requirements that said face coverings should not be worn by: “Those advised by a medical, legal or behavioral health professional that wearing a face covering may pose a risk to that person.”
His efforts started before Gov. Jay Inslee’s decision last week to require students to wear masks when they return to classrooms this fall.
Inslee cited the spike in infections of the COVID delta variant for his decision. And the change brought a host of new rules from the Department of Health.
But Celski, who has been fighting COVID-related restrictions, also said he wasn’t finished.
“We will continue to research this and once we find another way we will be keeping all of our followers updated,” said his Facebook post. “We will continue to fight for our rights.”
His announcement was met with a combination of frustration from people who don’t want children to have to wear masks, and people grateful that they stopped providing waivers.
Many of the opponents to the rules urged parents to pull their children out of the public schools and either send them to private schools or to homeschool them.
“Celski Law Firm is an amazing organization,” said M. Semi Bird, who is running for Richland School Board. “Thank you so much for your selfless service to our community.”
A critic of Celski’s stance said the law firm was “embarrassing the rest of us.”
This story was originally published August 2, 2021 at 12:58 PM.