Two Wisconsin families have filed a lawsuit against their school districts after their children caught the coronavirus from classmates.

When students returned to school this year, Districts in the state rolled back some of the COVID-19 measures that were in place when the pandemic first broke out. Among the changes was removing a mask mandate.

Shannon Jensen and Gina Kildahl are suing the School District of Waukesha and the School District of Fall Creek respectively after their sons both went to school and allegedly contracted the virus from classmates who were symptomatic and not wearing masks.

Jensen explains in her lawsuit that despite wearing a mask, her son contracted the virus from a classmate who was not wearing a mask. Her son tested positive for the virus on September 19 and then later passed it onto her other school-aged son. Both her children ended up missing several days from school as they recovered. Jensen lays the blame on the Waukesha Board of Education, the school district, and several board members and employees for “knowingly, needlessly, unreasonably, and recklessly exposing the public to Covid-19 [and] endangering public health."

Jensen also targets the lack of safety protocol in place at the school district. Her lawsuit details an outbreak that happened in the classroom and the lack of timely notification for parents. "There was no actual contact tracing being done in the school, just blanket informing parents when a child in the class had tested positive, usually several days after." Jensen details in the complaint.

Kidahl, who filed her lawsuit on Monday, echoed a similar sentiment. Kidahl was made aware of her son’s classmates who did not wear a mask despite having tested positive for the virus. Her son who does wear a mask ended up testing positive for the virus shortly after. As a result, her son was out of school for several days recovering.

Kidahl called the school district's approach to COVID-19 mitigation measures “reckless” after the school district chose to go against CDC guidance which recommends mask mandates for students. Kidahl’s lawsuit calls the school’s decision a violation of her son’s equal protection rights under the 14th Amendment.

In an interview with CNN, Kidahl explains, "On my school's website, on all of their board documentation, they say they want to provide a safe place to learn. And I think that to do that, especially with the delta variant out there, they need to start masking kids."

In her lawsuit, Kidahl slams the school district’s choice to relax mask mandates. "By bringing students back to class around unmasked staff, reinstituting extracurricular activities, and allowing potentially contagious visitors and volunteers into the schools without masks, FCSD and the BOARD threw students into a Covid-19 'snake pit' creating an affirmative duty to keep their students safe from Covid-19."

When Jensen filed her lawsuit, she had the backing of Minocqua Brewing Super Pac. Founder of the “progressive beer” company, Kirk Bangstad, was a vocal critic of President Trump's approach and handling of the pandemic. Bangstad ran and lost against Republican incumbent Rob Swearingen for State Assembly District 34 last November.

After Kidahl announced her lawsuit, Bangstad jumped in to help fund her efforts as well. "Wisconsin communities have exploded with the Delta variant because many school districts have dropped all forms of COVID mitigation that were in place last year," Banstad shared on his brewing company's Facebook page. His efforts have raised over $50,000 in donations to help support the lawsuits.

Bangstad stands firm in his efforts to put mitigation measures in schools. He shared on social media that he plans to sue "every school board in Wisconsin that doesn't follow CDC guidelines to protect the spread of COVID in schools."

The lawsuits, which are almost identical, are seeking an injunction by the courts that would require the schools to follow CDC recommendations. The suits are currently seeking class-action status, and Bangstad is already working on filing a third lawsuit against Wisconsin schools and their lack of safety measures.