Harmeet Dhillon. (Photo: Wikipedia)
Center for American Liberty to File Lawsuit to Block Closure of CA Schools
Draconian order means most schools will not open
By Katy Grimes, July 20, 2020 8:06 am
Following California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s arbitrary and unnecessary closure of California’s schools Friday, Attorney Harmeet Dhillon announced on Fox News she would be filing another lawsuit against him.
Dhillon’s Center for American Liberty will file a lawsuit to block the implementation of Governor Newsom’s shutdown of California schools.
“Today, Governor Newsom announced that in more than 30 counties, representing 80% of the state’s population, school buildings will remain closed,” the Center said. “This prohibition of in-person educational instruction appears to restrict both private and public schools—leaving the overwhelming majority of students without genuine access to an education.”
“California’s constitution guarantees children the right to a basic education. However, for many students, this is not possible online.”
Newsom announced that public school students in most of California will not be attending school in person this fall, subjecting students to online learning only – if they have parents available to monitor the process.
Schools can reopen for in-person learning only once the county it is operating in has been off the state’s monitoring list for 14 consecutive days, which means most schools will not be able to re-open. Currently, 32 counties are on the interactive coronavirus monitoring list.
“The virus will be with us for a year or more, and school districts must provide meaningful instruction in the midst of this pandemic,” Newsom said Friday. “In California, health data will determine when a school can be physically open -– and when it must close –- but learning should never stop. Students, staff, and parents all prefer in-classroom instruction, but only if it can be done safely.”
“Yet again he has gone too far, and this time this issue affects not just the kids, but their parents, and their parents who have jobs, and all the workplaces that are impacted,” Dhillon said on Fox. “This is actually a catastrophe for California, and we are intending to challenge it legally.”
“The California Constitution has a constitutional guarantee for a basic education for all children,” Dhillon said, citing a number of conversations with teachers who say the experience with online learning has been a “disaster,” especially when it comes to students who need extra help, or those who have been unable to participate in virtual learning due to lack of access.
Last week, the Orange County Board of Education voted 4 to 1 to approve new school reopening suggestions, including not making it a requirement for students to wear masks or practice social distancing, California Globe reported.
Almost immediately, the United Teachers of Los Angeles labor union pushed back: “Pushing to restart schools without basic coronavirus precautions is incredibly dangerous and irresponsible,” UTLA posted on Facebook. “Health and safety requirements are in place to protect the lives of our children, educators and parents.”
“We will use science, not politics, to determine when schools should reopen,” UTLA said, and then posted #WeRiseTogether #WeArePublicSchools #UTLAStrong.
California Globe received numerous messages from parents whose kids go to private schools. Parents said they were concerned because their schools had initially announced they were going to re-open without restrictions, but have recanted, and are now preparing quasi-in-school, online curriculum.
Even Sen. Melissa Melendez (R-Lake Elsinore), a mother of five, weighed in on the school order: “Today I learned my kids will have zero options for classroom-based education when school resumes in the fall. This will not only have a disastrous effect on kids, but also on the ability of their parents to keep their jobs.”
“Are you an LA public school parent concerned enough about the school closures to do something about it?” Dhillon posted on Facebook. “If so please message me privately or email me at my firm. We would like to hear your story, all backgrounds and situations.”
“Guess what, the taxpayers are not getting a rebate back,” Dhillon said, as some 80% of K-12 education funding in CA comes from the state and property taxes. “So when you have government monies being levied for particular government purposes, like education, but the government’s not spending it on that, they’re not spending it effectively, that’s a taxpayer standing issue regarding the right of the taxpayer to have what they pay the money for actually used for that purpose.”
While Newsom claims to be following the “health data” and the “science,” he ignores that there are zero deaths in California of young people under age 18.
Currently, California shows 6,044,039 COVID-19 tests have been administered, 366,164 positive tests, 7,475 deaths from COVID, leaving 5,677,935 negative tests. Gov. Newsom never discusses the negative tests, or the dropping death rate from COVID-19.
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It is good to see another lawsuit has been filed by Center for American Liberty. However, many suits have been filed and nothing has become of them during the Wuhan Virus shutdown. We are all being held prisoners in our own state with no recourse.
Thank goodness my children are grown and raised, with that being said we all lose with the shutdown in schools. If the schools do not have daily attendance then how can they be funded? Will it be a basic distribution to each district?
If I were a parent of a school aged child, I would look for the best online education outside of California districts and enroll my kid. Go with an online school that has a history of being the best! Parents need to boycott the Governors mandates. Take your child, money and time somewhere else!
This is just complete insanity and the long term consequences of poverty and emotional effects will be realized many years from now. Such a shame!
Really smart how are they going to make our children go to school during the pandemic. As far as I can remember immunization records up to date a must, so we have no vaccine yet available for to take so why put our children back into school to carry a virus back home to the grandparents and parents. Makes no sense I want to know who’s in charge so I could slap them who approves this lawsuit.
Thank God someone, especially our lawyers, who have the training and experience to know when laws are being broken and how to fight the battle against injustices happening today. We the people, support this dutiful work done by those equiped to stop the insanity of politicians ruining America’s future today.
Schools need to open, my grandson had a terrible time with online school, I highly doubt he learned anything…
Tina: Teach your grandson yourself. Reading, letter writing, and learning to communicate costs nothing. Every teacher wants to return, but would you want yourself, your grandson’s teachers, or your grandson to wade into a deadly pool of possible contaminants?
The fear-mongering must end. We refuse to be manipulated by the California Teachers Association. The American Academy of Pediatrics urges all schools to open, but Democrats would rather ruin our kids and the economy to get rid of the orange man. Disgusting.
You should read all of the recommendation from the American Academy of Pediatrics. If you would, you would see that it says if it can be done safely. You are playing politics with our children and there is no excuse for doing that. Schools are simply not safe to open. Shame on you for being so greedy and letting your politics affect your judgement and good sense.
Who are you to tell her to teach her grandson herself? The child has a right by law to be back in school. And where did you get this bedtime story about a “deadly pool of possible contaminants”? The science shows the kids do not get this. They may test positive, but they have no illness or mild illness. There is NO reported case of a child giving it to an adult in the WORLD. 20 European schools have opened up and have no problem. YOU are the one who needs an education. YOU need to get the facts.
No one appears concerned over the 33000 day care centers in Los Angeles county that have remained open for essential workers. What about all those adults caring for children? Read the research and science. Children are poor vectors and don’t transmit the virus adults transmit to children. We wade through deadly deadly contaminants every day and are still here to write about it.
Michael I am sure you understand what Tina is saying. It is important for these children to be in school. If you choose to not to send your child to school, you have that right. But YOU are taking away my right to send my child to school. The UTLA is hurting the children they are claiming to protect! This is all political and you know it
Please help us get our kids back to school! I have 4 children who need to attend school. Their age are14,11,9,5 and I have a 1 year old. I don’t understand half of the stuff my kids have to be taught and I don’t have the time to teach them all. We need our schools opened and wonderful teachers back! I don’t want my children to fail. Help me please!
Teachers want to be back. We are human too! It’s about the kids! But it is also for the teachers health and the safety. All need to be safe . Other countries have recovered because the the wearing of masks. Many here choose not to… Which is why the numbers continuously change.
It is NOT about the teacher’s health and safety. Children do NOT pass it on to adults. 20 countries have let the kids back to school and NO problem. The wearing of masks has no impact on children or adults unless you use the N95 as opposed to the facial panties I see at the grocery store. Seriously, you have a degree and haven’t done your own fact checking? Wow.
That is not the experience in Israel. After reopening their schools they had to close them again because of the outbreak in schools. Their contact tracing found many cases of children passing it on to their teachers. If you truly are a doctor, you also know that any face cover is not meant to protect you but to protect others from you when you sneeze or cough. They greatly reduce the distance viral particles spread and decrease the amount of viral particles introduced into the air.
My son is in high school and loves his tennis which his last season was cut off just when it was starting due to COVID! This disease doesn’t affect the children! I’m an RN and work at a children’s hospital, this disease does not affect the children up to 18! Few have gotten it, and when they do, they recover easily. Shutting schools down and school sports is insane! We have a selfish wicked government in California that doesn’t care about California’s children or their parents! I have found my daughter a small charter school that will be 1:1 teaching her in this coming up 5th grade and now our insanely greedy governor is talking about taking away all charter school funding! Recall Newsom and please get someone who cares about our children to take his place!
I’m a physician and agree with you. I just heard Newsom was stepping in on Charter schools and private schools. I signed to the petition to remove him. People have to vote the left wing Democrats out.
https://aapsonline.org/covid-19-facts-vs-hysteria-for-the-future-of-america/
Assoc of American Physician & Surgeons -COVID-19 hysteria lesson. Send this to Newsom, the leftist weasel.
Stanford Hoover Institute MD, Scott Atlas, is continually quoting the American Pediatrics Assoc endorsement of getting the schools open in the USA.
G.K. Chesterton, a prolific writer, that I believe died in 1939 said “Don’t be so open minded, your brain falls out”.
That describes the left so succinctly. I cannot express my disdain in writing for Newsom, Fauci, Brix, left politicians and the left media, without using “salty” language.