Missouri school district asks parents to sign COVID-19 'death' waiver for children
A school district in Missouri is requiring parents to sign a waiver in case children who participate in sports or other activities become infected with COVID-19 and die.
The "waiver of liability" from Hazelwood School District was shared on Tuesday by attorney Natasha Scruggs.
"I feel sick reading it," Scruggs said.
The document asks parents to acknowledge that COVID-19 is a public health crisis and to relinquish their rights to hold the district responsible even if a student's death is "caused by the negligence of carelessness" of school staff.
The waiver states:
The undersigned agrees to release, discharge, hold harmless and indemnify the Hazelwood School District, it's agents, employees, officers, Board of Education members, insurers and others acting on the District's behalf (the Releasees) of and from any and all claims, demands, causes of action and/or legal liabilities for injuries to or death of my child occurring during, or resulting from, or participation in the above-mentioned program or activity and related in any way to COVID-19, even if the cause, damages or injuries are alleged to be the fault of or alleged to be caused by the negligence of carelessness of the Releasees.
In a statement to Raw Story, Hazelwood School District noted that the waiver is only required for students who want to participate in sports and other special activities.
"HSD doesn't have a COVID-19 waiver for students to attend school in-person," the district said. "Like all districts, we have a sports waiver that we issue to parents who want their kids to play sports."
Read the document below.
Editor's note: This report has been updated with a statement from Hazelwood School District.