Smith v. Albany County School District No. 1

── Smith v. Albany County School District No. 1 ── Court: Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit Date: May 04, 2026 Category: General Appellate Case: 25-8039 Document: 43-1 Date Filed: 05/04/2026 Page: 1 FILED United States Court of Appeals PUBLISH Tenth Circuit UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS May 4, 2026 Christopher M. Wolpert FOR THE TENTH CIRCUIT Clerk of Court _________________________________ ANDY SMITH; ERIN SMITH; GRACE SMITH, Plaintiffs - Appellants, v. No. 25-8039 ALBANY COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 1 BOARD OF TRUSTEES; JANICE MARSHALL, in both her individual and official capacities as Chairman for the Board of Trustees for Albany County School District No. 1; NATE MARTIN, in both his individual and official capacities as Trustee for the Board of Trustees for Albany County School District No.1; KIM SORENSON, in both his individual and official capacities as Trustee for the Board of Trustees for Albany County School District No. 1; EMILY SIEGEL-STANTON, in both her individual and official capacities as Trustee for the Board of Trustees for Albany County School District No. 1; BETH BEAR, in both her individual and official capacities as Chairman for the Board of Trustees for Albany County School District No. 1; LAWRENCE PAREA, in both his individual and official capacities (and/or his successor(s) in their official capacity) as Trustee for the Board of Trustees for Albany County School District No. 1; DR. JUBAL YENNIE, Ed.D., in both his individual and official capacities (and/or his successor(s) in their official capacity) as Superintendent of Albany County  Appellate Case: 25-8039 Document: 43-1 Date Filed: 05/04/2026 Page: 2 School District No. 1; JEFF LEWIS, in both his individual and official capacities (and/or his successor(s) in their official capacity) as Principal of Laramie High School, Defendants - Appellees. _________________________________ Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Wyoming (D.C. No. 2:23-CV-00159-KHR) _________________________________ Submitted on the briefs: * Randy B. Corporon and Matthew T. Arnold, Law Offices of Randy B. Corporon, P.C., Greenwood Village, Colorado, and Roxie Lee Hensley, Hensley Law, LLC, Laramie, Wyoming, for Plaintiff-Appellants. L. Kathleen Chaney and Eric D. Hevenor, Lambdin & Chaney, LLP, Denver, Colorado, for Defendants-Appellees. _________________________________ Before TYMKOVICH, MURPHY, and BACHARACH, Circuit Judges. _________________________________ TYMKOVICH, Circuit Judge. _________________________________ Grace Smith was a junior at Laramie High School in September 2021 when the Albany County School District No. 1 Board of Trustees instituted a COVID-19 indoor mask mandate. She refused to wear a mask, causing school administrators to * After examining the briefs and appellate record, this panel has determined unanimously that oral argument would not materially assist in the determination of this appeal. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2); 10th Cir. R. 34.1(G). The case is therefore ordered submitted without oral argument. 2  Appellate Case: 25-8039 Document: 43-1 Date Filed: 05/04/2026 Page: 3 repeatedly suspend her and, eventually, to have her arrested when she would not leave school grounds. In response, Grace and her parents sued the Board, the superintendent, and the L