Parents hold a peaceful protest outside of the Montgomery County Office of Public Health on Saturday, Nov. 14.
A lawsuit that sought an immediate injunction against the Montgomery County Board of Health’s recent order to shutdown schools across the county for a two-week period has been denied.
Souderton Area School District parent and Telford resident Kaitlin Derstine, Lower Gwynedd resident Liz Weir, and Coventry Christian School Head John Niehls last Wednesday filed an emergency petition in county court, asking a judge to issue an injunction to stop the order from taking effect Nov. 23. The three plaintiffs were acting on behalf of the 4,300-plus-strong Parents for In-Person Education (PIPE) Facebook group.
The three plaintiffs wanted the Board to declare that it violated the Pennsylvania Sunshine Act at two public meetings and to declare any official action taken at either meeting be null and void. They also sought a permanent injunction “enjoining all defendants from enforcing or taking any official action” on the county COVID-19 Risk Reduction and Mitigation Order.
However, on Friday, Montgomery County Common Pleas Judge Richard Haaz denied the petition, stating that the parents’ group failed to prove that the Department of Health had deliberated in secret.
Defendants named in the civil lawsuit were the Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services Office of Public Health, the Montgomery County Board of Health, Montgomery County Board of Commissioners, Commissioners Chair Dr. Valerie Arkoosh, Commissioner Vice Chair Kenneth Lawrence Jr., interim Director of the Office of Public Health Janet Panning, Medical Director of the Office of Public Health Dr. Richard Lorraine, and Board of Health members Michael Laign, Dr. Francis Jeyaraj, Steven Katz, Barbara Wadsworth, and Martin Trichtinger.
Montgomery County Commissioner Joe Gale was not named as an individual in the lawsuit.
According to a report by Maddie Hanna at the Philadelphia Inquirer, following the denial from Judge Haaz on Friday, the parents who filed the initial lawsuit filed a second one in federal court. Hanna’s report states that the federal lawsuit takes a different approach, arguing that schools were unfairly targeted by the county while “documented super-spreader sites” like restaurants and gyms faced no new restrictions.
On Nov. 12, the Board of Health held a public meeting via Zoom to decide whether or not to close public and private schools for two weeks beginning Nov. 23, in order to stave off the spread of COVID-19 during the Thanksgiving holiday — an order that was backed and directed by Arkoosh. The order initially had language in it for the potential of the order to expand beyond two weeks.
After nearly three hours of public comment – of which a majority of parents and school administrators vehemently opposed the order and urged the Board to follow suit – the Board voted to recess, assess comments and return on Nov. 13 to vote on the matter. On Nov. 13, the Board voted unanimously, without deliberation, to approve the order. The order removed the clause “with the potential for expansion beyond this date.”
The order was not made available to the public prior to or the day of the meeting. It has since taken effect as of Monday, Nov. 23.
County officials have not responded to requests for comment regarding the federal lawsuit.
See also:
North Penn Student Journalists Pen Rival Op-Eds Advocating For Virtual, Hybrid Learning Models
Lawsuit Filed Against County Board Of Health, Commissioners Over School Closure Order
Montco Department Of Health Unanimously Votes To Temporarily Close Schools Amidst COVID-19 Surge
Montco Meeting On Potential School Closures Ends In Recess, Vote Rescheduled For Friday
