Counsel for the Warren County School District has filed a notice of proposed settlement in federal court that would resolve a lawsuit over the district’s attempt to circumvent state mask mandate requirements.

The document was filed in US District Court on Tuesday.

It states that the “parties have been discussing settlement” of both a request for a preliminary injunction “and the case, in whole.”

The suit was brought by a group of parents who have not been identified in court filings.

“The parties have reached a tentative settlement to resolve the entire case through the entry of a Consent Order,” Tuesday’s filing states. “However, that agreement must be approved by the Warren County School District’s Board of Directors at a public meeting.”

The board’s next meeting is Monday and the document states that “the board will consider and vote upon the parties’ proposed settlement.”

The item is on the district’s online meeting agenda but no documents are attached as of Friday morning.

Pending that decision by the board, the district’s legal counsel asked for the hearing on a motion for preliminary injunction to be continued.

Federal Judge Susan Paradise Baxter signed off on that request on Wednesday and re-scheduled the injunction hearing for Dec. 20, court records show.

At the heart of the suit is the district’s Sept. 13 decision to permit parents to sign a waiver in order to exempt their children from state mask requirements without supporting medical documentation.

“This September 13, 2021 vote was based on ignorance due to lack of inquiry into facts,” a memorandum in support of the complaint suggests. “The board held a rushed hearing that provided only 24 hours’ notice to the public and provided no notice that a policy vote was taking place.”

The district, they claim, “granted de facto permission for optional masking on school buses” by only issuing warnings under the district’s disciplinary procedures. They argue the district made a policy change with that move and didn’t provide any public notice or take the item before committee review.

In response, the district retracted those actions and brought itself in compliance with the mask mandate.

Earlier this month, the Associated Press reported that Gov. Tom Wolf would return the mask decisions to local school districts on Jan. 17.