On the same day that the governor and state health director extended Covid closures, the Michigan Association of Non-Public Schools filed a federal lawsuit seeking an exception.
Graduation last year at Everett Collegiate High School and Acedmy in Clarkston. (Photo from school)
Halting in-person classes at all high schools until Dec. 21 is unfair, violates constitutional rights and fails "to advance the common good," says the challenge by parochial schools and other private academies, according to The Detroit News.
"The [epidemic] order is a one-size-must-fit-all directive that does not allow flexibility or tailoring by schools to allow in-person religious formation," read the federal lawsuit against Michigan Department of Health and Human Services Director Robert Gordon that was filed Monday in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan.
"... Although all high schools must shut down, the order expressly allows many other locations and entities to continue in-person activities. ... Forbidding students from attending religious schools that have protective measures in place, and while permitting countless other gatherings that pose equal or higher risks, is irrational and arbitrary."
School sutdowns should be decided individually, based on infection rates. The Lansing association's legal filing says an Oakland County academy -- Everest Collegiate in Clarkston -- and two others (Father Gabriel Richard High School in Ann Arbor and Lansing Catholic High) spent thousands of dollars on "strong, effective and proven preventative measures against the transmission of Covid-19, while still allowing in-person instruction."
Virus transmission related to the schools "is extremely limited," their lawyers wrote in the filing.
Everest, which has 357 students in preschool through 12th grade, reported no cases this fall, according to the document.
