The Orange County Board of Education doubled its battle with California governor Gavin Newsom’s coronavirus school shutdown orders, voting to sue the governor in an effort to open campuses in high-risk counties.
The Tyler & Bursch law firm, which is currently suing Newsom over another coronavirus rule that temporarily prohibits singing in churches, announced Wednesday that it would represent the pro bono county board. The decision to sue during a closed session vote Tuesday night comes after the board approved recommendations on July 13 to ask Orange County schools to teach students in person and suggested guidelines against students. who wear masks and social distancing.
Four days later, Newsom issued new rules that require schools in counties that are being monitored by the state for a high spread of COVID-19 to remain closed, including those in Orange County.
The lawsuit’s decision was criticized as a political stunt by Orange County Supt. Al Mijares, who oversees the county Department of Education.
“I am disappointed by this latest legal action, but I am not surprised,” Mijares said in a statement Wednesday. “This lawsuit continues the pattern of a highly litigious board majority that appears to have no qualms about diverting the time, energy, and financial resources of students and programs to satisfy their own ideological interests.”
Jesse Melgar, a spokesman for the governor, said Newsom’s decisions during the pandemic are driven by science.
“The courts have repeatedly upheld the governor’s emergency authority to issue public health protection orders against this devastating virus,” said Melgar. “We are sure that will be the case here again.”
Despite the board’s votes, the county’s department of education will promote the governor’s school closure orders, said Nichole Pichardo, a department spokesman.
He noted that neither the board’s decision to file a lawsuit nor its recommendation to return children to schools without masks or social distancing establishes a policy for many school districts overseen by the board and the Department of Education.
“The recommendations of the majority of the board are not binding in any way. Local school boards will play a key role in reopening the 600 county campuses safely and responsibly. They will work with their superintendents, staff and families to assess orientation and implement specific plans for their districts based on the needs of their schools and communities, ”she said.
Tyler & Bursch attorneys Robert Tyler and Jennifer Bursch suggested that the impending lawsuit would argue that the closure of schools violates the California Constitution by disproportionately harming marginalized children.
“California children have a constitutional right to 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 Bursch.
Tyler said the ban “will cause tens of thousands of children to fall through the cracks and, in many cases, will be harmed for life.”
Across California, the coronavirus is disproportionately infecting and killing black and Latino people.
The fifth member of the board, Beckie Gómez, was absent from the meeting. Gomez was the only member to vote against the board’s controversial school reopening recommendations earlier this month.
Law firm spokeswoman Desaré Ferraro said the board members who voted to file a lawsuit did not answer questions about their decision, but instead shared their written statements. Member Tim Shaw argued that the district’s many Spanish-speaking parents may have difficulty helping students participate with materials in English if schools are not in session. Lisa Sparks said that not returning to school would affect students’ mental health.
Board President Ken Williams and Vice President Mari Barke cited community discussion, data review and consultation with experts to justify their votes, apparently referring to the controversial white paper the board published to recommend the reopening of schools in person, which was attached at the end of the publication.
A board statement said the document summarizes “expert testimony on the best and most effective ways to consider as we move toward reopening schools” from a June panel discussion. Some of the experts cited have denied or downplayed their contributions to the report.
The OC Voice reported that Dr. Steven Abelowitz, former president of pediatrics at Presbyterian Hospital Hoag Memorial, said he was not involved in drafting or preparing the document, requested that his name be removed, and expressed support for the masks. and social distancing.
Chapman’s teacher Joel Kotkin, also quoted, told the Times that he “had no idea” about the “white paper” until his wife showed him an article mentioning it.
“I was surprised by the lack of precautions and no alternative for parents who understandably might not want to send their children to school,” said Kotkin.
Two other experts cited, Orange County Supervisor Don Wagner and Health Director Dr. Clayton Chau, said in a joint statement that “they did not write, edit or revise the ‘technical document’ submitted by the County Board of Education. Orange “.
In the letter, Wagner and Chau expressed their support for the Department of Education’s plan, which aligned with the California Department of Public Health, and emphasized the importance of social distancing and face coverage when schools can offer classes in person.
Abelowitz and Chau did not immediately respond to comment Wednesday. Wagner offered support for the classes in person in a written statement.
“Science says that young children should be in school and that teachers, like other essential workers, can implement protective measures,” Wagner said. “We can create hygiene protocols for individual schools instead of insisting on a top-down, one-size-fits-all approach that the state currently dictates.”
Tyler & Bursch will file the lawsuit with Advocates for Faith & Freedom, a non-profit law firm that Tyler & Bursch supports financially and legally. Ferraro said the firm expects to file the lawsuit next week, but added that it is unclear how long the lawsuit will take to go through the court system due to the coronavirus slowdown.
