Parents sue to block Montco’s 2- week virtual school order

NORRISTOWN » A group of parents has gone to court to prevent a Montgomery County Board of Health order that would require all public and private schools to move to an all- virtual learning model for a twoweek period around the Thanksgiving holiday from taking effect next week.

“We can no longer sit by while our children are used as guinea pigs in this virtual learning experiment. Virtual learning isn’t working,” the parents wrote in an email in which they announced the filing of the court action Wednesday.

“Schools across the county have been opened, some 5 days a week, with no real outbreaks. Our schools have done the hard work of preparing and have been doing an amazing job for our kids. School exists for kids. Schools are doing their jobs. The kids have suffered enough. It’s time for them to go back,” the parents added.

The complaint filed in county court asked a judge to issue a preliminary and permanent injunction to prevent the board of health’s order from taking effect Nov. 23.

The complaint alleges the board of health violated the

Pennsylvania Sunshine Act during special meetings held Nov. 12 and and asked a judge to declare the official action taken by the board during the meetings to be “invalid and void.”

Listed as plaintiffs in the complaint are John Niehls, of Upper Hanover; Elizabeth Weir, of Lower Gwynedd; and Kaitlin Derstine, of Telford.

The complaint was filed against the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners; Commissioners’ Chairwoman Dr. Valerie Arkoosh and Commissioner Kenneth E. Lawrence Jr. in their official capacities; the Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services; Janet Paning, interim director of the county Office of Public Health; Richard S. Lorraine, medical director of the Office of Public Health; and the Montgomery County Board of Health and its five board members, Michael B. Laign, Francis Jeyaraj, Steven Katz, Barbara Wadsworth, and Martin Trichtinger.

Last Friday, the five members of the county Board of Health voted unanimously to approve a two- week pause, from Nov. 23 to Dec. 6, on in- person instruction and extracurricular activities, including sports and sports practices, at all public and private schools. The requirement also includes virtual education for special education.

Schools can resume inperson instruction on Dec. 7, under the approved Montgomery County School COVID19 Risk Reduction and Mitigation Order.

Health officials said they feared that if people go directly back to school after the Thanksgiving holiday, after large social gatherings, the chances are that there will be people who are infectious, asymptomatic, and who could trigger a substantial COVID- 19 outbreak within schools.

The implementation of virtual schools during the period of peak contagion is designed to reduce the spread of COVID- 19 and is essential to ensure the protection of children, teachers, school staff and others who are impacted, as well as those in the general community, board members said at the time.

The Nov. 13 vote came a day after the board held a special meeting, via Zoom videoconferencing, during which nearly 500 people tuned in and weighed- in on the plan to halt in- person instruction and sports in schools for two weeks. The board heard about 60 public comments, with all but a few voicing objections to the proposal, before recessing and announcing it would reconvene at noon Nov. 13.

The Nov. 13 meeting at which the vote was taken was broadcast virtually on the health department’s Facebook page.

In the complaint, the parents alleged the board violated the Sunshine Act by failing to provide proper public notice of the reconvened Nov. 13 meeting and by limiting public comment at the Nov. 12 meeting and barring public comment at the reconvened Nov. 13 meeting.

“Defendants were aware of their obligations under the Sunshine Act to take official action only at a meeting open to the public. Defendants willfully violated the Sunshine Act by taking this unlawful action,” the suit alleged.

The parents are represented by lawyers Walter S. Zimolong, of Wayne, and Jaclyn Mason, of Philadelphia.

It’s unclear when a judge will address the complaint.

“As parents, educators, and concerned citizens, we have seen the damage inflicted on our children by the continued isolation, lack of cognitive stimulation, and substandard virtual education being delivered by our districts,” Niehls, Weir and Derstine wrote in an email. “Decisions with this magnitude of impact must be done transparently and in accordance with all applicable laws and statutes. In this case, the county failed to meet that bar.”

In the days following the decision, some parents gathered to protest outside the county’s Human Services Center in Norristown and they pledged to keep organizing protests and rallies to voice their opposition to the board’s decision.

“We can no longer sit by while our children are used as guinea pigs in this virtual learning experiment.” — Montgomery County parents