A federal lawsuit filed Tuesday seeks to overturn the mandate issued by Gov. Gavin Newsom to keep schools closed in counties like Fresno that are on the state’s COVID-19 watchlist.
Distance learning failed to educate children of all races, ethnicities, income levels, and education needs when it took effect last spring, and that failure will only continue this fall in the nearly three dozen counties on the watchlist, said attorney Harmeet Dhillon, founder and CEO of the Center for American Liberty.
The center filed the suit on behalf of nine parents and one child and is asking the U.S. District Court in the Central District of California Western Division to immediately halt the mandate, which requires schools to remain closed until a county has been off the watchlist for 14 consecutive days.
Districts need to be able to offer in-person instruction for families who want it as well as teachers who want to return to the classroom, Dhillon said.
