Daniel Cameron speaks during news conference

FILE - In this Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2020 file photo, Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron speaks during a news conference in Frankfort, Ky. A Kentucky judge has temporarily blocked a new parole board policy that would give dozens of convicted murderers another chance at potentially cutting short their life-in-prison sentences. The temporary restraining order issued this week by a circuit judge was requested by Attorney General Daniel Cameron and Jackie Steele, commonwealth's attorney for Knox and Laurel counties.(AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley, File)

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Kentucky's Attorney General is taking Gov. Andy Beshear's executive order mandating masks in schools amid a COVID-19 surge to the Supreme Court.

Daniel Cameron's office said it received a copy of Beshear's executive order on Tuesday evening and that it was being actively reviewed.

"As Kentucky's chief law officer, our office must ensure that the rule of law is upheld during this pandemic," Cameron said. "This means protecting the law-making prerogative of the General Assembly and respecting the judicial power of our courts."

Wednesday afternoon, Cameron called the mandate an "unlawful exercise of power" and asked the Supreme Court to "require the governor to follow the law."

In a news release, Cameron argues Beshear's order "disregards the laws passed by the General Assembly during the 2021 session and violates a Boone Circuit Court injunction."

That injunction against the governor, Cameron said, says "he must follow the laws passed by the General Assembly," which he "directly ignored" in his executive order on Tuesday.

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

Cameron also argues Beshear needs to "do what the law requires" and work with the General Assembly if he feels "the science requires a statewide mask mandate for schools and childcare centers" in order to put necessary precautions in place.

This comes as the Delta variant sparks waves of new cases in Kentucky. Beshear reported 2,500 virus cases on Tuesday. Virus-related hospitalizations are surging at an "alarming" rate, he said during a press briefing from the Capitol on Tuesday.

The Supreme Court will now review Cameron's arguments, which can be read in full by clicking here. 

Beshear addressed his decision on Wednesday, saying keeping students in school is a priority.

"I know it's not fun. But sending unvaccinated children to sit in a full classroom in a poorly ventilated building is like sending them to a chickenpox party. Except instead of chickenpox, it's the third leading cause of death in America," he said.

Beshear said the districts that started the year with masks are doing fine, and one district that didn't had to quarantine 700 students after just three days of school.

This isn't the first time the attorney general has taken one of Gov. Beshear's executive orders to the Supreme Court.

Last August, Cameron filed a brief in the Supreme Court challenging Beshear's COVID-19 executive orders, arguing they "disregarded the constitutionally mandated separation of powers, which strictly prohibits a Governor from exercising legislative power." The challenge came after Cameron called on a judge to block the governor from enforcing any coronavirus orders in the state.

Beshear ultimately won the court battle over whether he wielded constitutional authority to impose virus-related mandates. The high court is reviewing new GOP-backed laws meant to rein in those executive powers.

Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, many of Beshear's executive orders and mandates have faced lawsuits, challenges in court and the occasional protest, as well as unsuccessful impeachment petitions from a group of Kentuckians. 

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Copyright 2021 WDRB Media. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press also contributed to this report.