San Francisco, California—Today, the Center for American Liberty, in coordination with Eimer Stahl LLP and the Dhillon Law Group, filed a Notice of Appeal at the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in the landmark #OpenCASchools case, Brach v. Newsom.
On December 1, 2020, the United States District Court granted a sua sponte motion for summary judgment in favor of the defendants, leaving public and private school facilities closed across most of the state. In his opinion, Judge Wilson reasoned “that no fundamental right to basic education exists” before concluding that plaintiffs’—mostly parents—claims “were unlikely to succeed on the merits.”
The Center for American Liberty filed Brach v. Newsom on July 21, 2020 on behalf of parents of children, many with special needs, who are being denied individualized instruction and the ability to attend school in person.
“The hypocrisy from California elected officials is astounding,” said Center for American Liberty CEO Harmeet K. Dhillon. “Governor Newsom’s own children are privileged enough to benefit from in-person education, yet the Governor has no problem denying millions of children across the state that same fundamental right.”
The District Court’s decision comes in the midst of a whirlwind of press reporting California officials ignoring public health guidelines. Governor Newsom recently made headlines for attending a birthday party, in violation of his own shelter-in-place order, at The French Laundry. News this week broke that San Francisco Mayor London Breed also attended a birthday celebration at The French Laundry just one day after Newsom. After encouraging Americans to cancel their Thanksgiving gatherings, San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo attended a large family gathering, in violation of health guidelines, to celebrate Thanksgiving. Hours after voting to ban outdoor dining in LA County, Los Angeles County Supervisor Sheila Kuehl dined at a restaurant in Santa Monica. And the list goes on.
“The liberal elites running California continue to create two sets of rules—one of Michelin starred dining and privilege that they enjoy and the other a massive shutdown that deprives children their right to an education, deprives the faith community the right to worship, and deprives small business owners their right to earn a living. That is why we are taking our lawsuit to reopen California schools to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to ensure that all children in California, regardless of their zip code, are afforded the same fundamental right to education,” concluded Dhillon.
