Lexington Christian Academy plans to open Monday. Beshear appeals judge’s ruling.
Lexington Christian Academy will open on Monday as a result of a federal court ruling allowing in-person instruction at Kentucky faith-based schools despite an order to close from Gov. Andy Beshear.
But Beshear is fighting to keep the Lexington school and others in the state closed to keep COVID-19 from spreading.
The Democratic governor has filed an emergency 45-page appeal with U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in Cincinnati of U.S. District Judge Gregory Van Tatenhove’s decision Wednesday to grant a preliminary injunction to 17 private Christian schools that had filed against a lawsuit against Beshear’s restriction to curb the coronavirus pandemic.
Attorney General Daniel Cameron joined the schools in that suit and Kentucky Treasurer Allison Ball filed an amicus brief supporting it.
On Friday, attorneys for several other religious schools that filed another federal lawsuit against Beshear filed a 21-page amicus on behalf of the schools that initially sued Beshear. The second lawsuit also is trying to stop Beshear’s COVID-19 order limiting indoor gatherings to no more than eight people from two different households.
Attorney Chris Wiest of Crestview Hills, who filed the second lawsuit, said Friday the appellate court may rule this weekend. He said attorneys and Cameron have until 10 a.m. Saturday to respond to Beshear’s appeal.
In his appeal, Beshear said Van Tatenhove’s ruling “not only immediately impedes the Commonwealth’s ability to enact public health measures to protect the public from the spread of COVID-19, but also eviscerates free exercise jurisprudence to call into question any neutrally-applicable public health measure a state would enact to protect children and staff of religiously-affiliated schools.”
He said the district judge’s order “will cause imminent irreparable harm to the people of Kentucky beginning Monday, November 30, 2020, by facilitating the spread of a deadly disease.”
He said the schools are not harmed by conducting 15 days of remote instruction while the COVID-19 surge continues.
On Wednesday, the state reported 3,408 new cases of the virus, with 1,734 people hospitalized for COVID-19 and 409 in intensive care and 216 on a ventilator.
Beshear signed an order Nov. 18 to limit indoor gatherings and stop in-person classes for all schools from Nov. 20 through Dec. 13.
With Van Tatenhove’s decision against Beshear’s order, the head of Lexington Christian Academy, B. Scott Wells, said in an email Thanksgiving Day that the school will open Monday.
“The court ruling provided LCA, and other faith-based schools, a unique opportunity to continue our on-campus instruction. It is imperative that each of us embraces the responsibilities that come with this opportunity,” Wells said, referring to health and safety measures.
LCA parents can opt for their children to participate in online instruction, Wells said.
LCA is following state health guidelines, he said. Families and students were asked to quarantine after travel and to not host groups of students without proper safety measures.
“Thank you, in advance, for not squandering our opportunity to return to in-person instruction and for making wise choices, now and in the future,” Wells said.
Danville Christian Academy also plans to return to in-person instruction Monday.
Sherri Patterson of Lexington has children who attend both LCA and another school that plans to open Monday — Veritas Christian Academy in Lexington. The two youngest attend a homeschool co-op at Veritas twice a week.
Patterson said she understands about the need for safety. But she said her children ought to be able to attend their Christian schools because there haven’t been any positive cases at Veritas and not many at Lexington Christian Academy.
Beshear’s order, she said, “was a hard blow to our family.”
This story was originally published November 27, 2020 at 4:37 PM.