A last-minute Dane County order to close schools leaves WCRIS and parents no choice but to sue.
On behalf of WCRIS’s schools, the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty (WILL) filed a lawsuit with the Wisconsin Supreme Court over the Dane County Health Department’s August 21 order closing all public and private schools, for grades 3-12.
While the order only affects Dane County schools, the state statutes on the powers of local health departments are so unclear there is concern that other counties would copy the order. The court’s decision will provide much-needed clarity for all WCRIS schools.
The lawsuit comes after a sudden announcement from the county’s health department on Friday (8/21), at 5:15 pm. The order caught many private schools off guard as schools were already underway or priming to open on Monday (8/24). The schools have spent all summer in consultation with the county, spending hundreds of thousands of dollars preparing for their students to return.
A good majority of the schools affected were private schools in the Diocese of Madison. Following the order, Bishop Hying released this statement about the order.
The shocking order also stirred a grassroots movement among parents in Dane County. They used social media and held rallies and press conferences to publicize the impact on their children.
On August 26, the court issued an order requiring the Madison and Dane County public health department attorneys to respond to WILL’s briefs by 4:00 pm on Friday, August 28, 2020.
This is a rapidly unfolding issue. Stay tuned to the WCRIS homepage and Current Events for updates.
