ALEXANDRIA, Ky. — Kentucky’s mask mandate legal battle began Wednesday, less than a day after Gov. Andy Beshear imposed an order requiring people to wear masks inside schools and child care centers.

Attorney General Daniel Cameron filed documents that morning in the Kentucky Supreme Court, challenging that order.

“The Governor does not have to choose between following the science and following the law,” Cameron said. “The two can and should work together."

Elsewhere in the commonwealth, some Northern Kentucky schools began the first day of classes by complying with Beshear's order.

"My granddaughter is in sixth grade, and she's okay with the mask, and I am, too, because there is so much going on right now,” Teri Rankin told us at pickup time outside Campbell County Middle School.

Joan Orme was also there picking up grandchildren. “Exactly, and my husband is ill, and I can’t have the grandkids coming in and bringing us something we can’t handle, you know?” said Orme.

Beshear said his order aims to protect those who can’t get the vaccine.

He put the mandate in place after some school administrators indicated they would not follow his administration — and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's — recommendation that students and staff mask indoors. His mandate requires everyone 2 years old and up to cover their nose and mouth while inside.

Exceptions include: those sleeping, those who can’t remove the covering on their own, any person with a disability or impairment that prevents them from wearing one, those deaf or hard of hearing trying to communicate. To see a complete list of exceptions, click here.

“With the younger kids, it just seems difficult,” said Liz Reeder, a mother from Wilder with a 2- and a 4-year-old.

“It just seems like a hard decision if you’re not going to get good compliance from people,” she said.

Attorney General Cameron’s challenge points to a Boone County Circuit Court injunction from June, which centers on Beans Café & Baker’s complaint about mask mandates. Plus, AG Cameron said, lawmakers voted to restrict the governor’s power in the 2021 session.

“If he believes that the science requires a statewide mask mandate for schools and childcare centers, then he needs to do what the law requires and work with the General Assembly to put the necessary health precautions in place," Cameron said.

WCPO 9News checked each of the major Northern Kentucky school districts. Administrators from each district say they are following the governor's mandate.

Miami University will require facial coverings in almost all cases on its campuses no matter their vaccination status beginning on Monday, the school announced today.

According to the Journal-News, Miami University President Gregory Crawford said the decision came because of concern about the spread of the delta variant of COVID-19 and recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Coverings will be required indoors beginning on Monday, except when exempted under the university’s COVID-19 policy. Students will not be required to wear masks inside their residence hall rooms.

“Our top priority is ensuring the health and safety of our campus community,” Crawford said. “Public health officials have advised us that the safest course of action for the successful completion of a robust, in-person semester is to take preventative actions now.”

Miami is urging anyone who is not vaccinated to get vaccinated immediately.

“Vaccines remain our best protective measure against the virus,” President Crawford said.

The first day of classes is Aug. 23.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom and state legislative leaders have reached an agreement aimed at getting most public school children back in classrooms by the end of March.

Under the deal announced Monday, school districts could tap into $2 billion in new funding if they reopen classrooms by March 31. Schools must return to in-person instruction at least through second grade to get the money.

Districts in regions with coronavirus case numbers at low enough levels must return to in-person instruction for all elementary school grades, plus one grade each in middle and high school.

Another $4.6 billion will be available for academic interventions for students who have fallen behind and is not contingent on a return to classrooms.

While the Biden administration has urged schools to reopen full time, the CDC’s latest guidelines would suggest many schools should remain partially or fully closed.

Under the guidelines, the CDC advises schools in “red” areas to hold virtual-only classes for middle and high schools “unless they can strictly implement all mitigation strategies, and have few cases.” Elementary schools should be in hybrid learning or reduced attendance, requiring students to be distanced 6 feet apart. Red areas are counties that have 100 new cases per 100,000 people in the past seven days, or a test positivity rate of 10%.

In addition to guidelines on when to open, the CDC continued to encourage schools to implement mask, social distancing and other guidelines. While the CDC encourages educators who can to get vaccinated, the CDC says that getting teachers fully vaccinated should not be a determining factor in reopening schools.

The National Educators Association said in a statement last month that more must be done to protect educators and students than vaccinations.

“We must also recognize that CDC standards still aren’t being met in too many of our schools,” the NEA said in a statement. “Many schools, especially those attended by Black, brown, indigenous, and poor white students, have severely outdated ventilation systems and no testing or tracing programs. State and local leaders cannot pick and choose which guidelines to follow and which students get resources to keep them safe. And too many schools do not have in place the basic protections that the CDC has said are universally required.”