Orange County school board to sue California over school closures
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SANTA ANA, Calif. - Education officials in Orange County are planning to sue Gov. Gavin Newsom and state health officials over rules barring most schools from reopening classrooms when the academic year starts due to the coronavirus.
The county’s Board of Education voted 4-0 Tuesday to file the lawsuit. The board majority said in a statement the state hasn’t addressed how high-risk students will navigate distance learning and that the rules violate students’ constitutional rights.
Board members say they want the school year to start with in-person classes and without the typical coronavirus protocols. “[They] heard from the community, reviewed data, and heard from medical experts. There is a greater risk to our children in not reopening, parents are in the best position to make decisions for their children," the OC Board of Education stated.
RELATED:
• Most California schools will begin 2020-21 school year online under Newsom's reopening guidelines
• OC school board approves reopening in-person classes without masks, social distancing
• GOP lawyer planning to sue Gov. Newsom over Calif. school closures
• Gov. Newsom asks for Californians to 'minimize mixing' in order to get students back to school
Parents say there are pros and cons about reopening schools early.
The attorneys, Tyler & Bursch, LLP of Murrieta in Riverside County, said they agreed to represent the board pro bono "to protect the vulnerable children in California." The lawsuit will also be supported by the nonprofit legal organization Advocates for Faith & Freedom. Attorneys expect to file the lawsuit
sometime next week.
"California children have a constitutional right to both an education and equal protection under the law. The governor denied them these rights and did so without adequately considering the disparate impact these restrictions would have on the disadvantaged,'' said attorney Jennifer Bursch of Tyler & Bursch, LLP. "We brought this lawsuit to protect the single mom and her children, children whose parents do not read or write English, and children with special needs.
"The governor's ban on in-person learning will cause tens of thousands of kids to fall through the cracks and, in many cases, will be harmed for life.''
The board approves the budget for the county’s education department but doesn’t make decisions for local school districts. Previously, the board stoked controversy by recommending schools reopen without requiring social distancing measures or masks.
RELATED: Stay up to date on all coronavirus-related information
Newsom has said public and private schools in counties that are on a state monitoring list for rising coronavirus infections can’t hold in-person classes and will have to meet strict criteria for reopening. Orange County is one of more than 30 counties on that list following a rise in virus cases and hospitalizations.
A conservative legal organization filed a federal lawsuit last week alleging the state doesn’t have the right to shutter schools.
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