HELENA, Mont. — Several parents are suing Missoula public schools over a mask requirement as the school year in Montana is set to begin amid a new wave of COVID-19 cases.

An attorney representing parents of students in Missoula public schools said the requirement is in violation of the state’s constitution, which guarantees individuals the right to make their own medical decisions.

Lawyer Quentin Rhoades said Thursday that there isn’t sufficient scientific evidence that children wearing masks prevents the spread of the coronavirus for the government to override that individual right.

The Missoula public schools superintendent’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the lawsuit.

An online fundraiser organized to cover the costs of filing the lawsuit raised $10,000 as of Thursday.

Matt Stivers, who donated $100 to the cause, wrote that his son has difficulty breathing while wearing a mask because of a heart defect.

“Kids need to see each others’ faces and deserve a normal experience in school. They are being deprived of non-verbal communication with other students,” Stivers wrote on the fundraiser page.

The Missoula County Public Schools Board of Trustees voted earlier this month to approve the mask mandate for the first six weeks of school.

Missoula is one of several districts in Montana where masks are required for students and staff, following recommendations issued by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in part because vaccines are not yet available for children younger than age 12.

In Billings, a mask mandate issued Saturday has led to pushback from teachers. Three teachers in the district were placed on unpaid leave for refusing to follow the policy. Some students were also denied entry to schools for refusing to wear masks.

Superintendent of Public Instruction Elsie Arntzen, a Republican and a former elementary school teacher, was among hundreds of people at a protest held earlier this week in Billings opposing the mask requirement.