Federal court rules religious schools in Kentucky may continue in-person instruction News
reenablack / Pixabay
Federal court rules religious schools in Kentucky may continue in-person instruction

The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky granted a Temporary Restraining Order (treated as a preliminary injunction) on Wednesday, preventing Governor of Kentucky Andy Beshear from enforcing his recent executive order against religious private schools in the state.

Governor Beshear issued Executive Order 2020-969 on November 18, 2020, which required all private and public schools in the state of Kentucky to cease in-person instruction through the end of the year in response to the increase in COVID-19 cases in the state. After Governor Beshear signed the order, Danville Christian Academy and Attorney General Daniel Camero filed a complaint, arguing that the order violated the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment, and sought a temporary restraining order (TRO) to prevent the Governor from enforcing the order against religious K-12 schools.

U.S. District Judge George F. Van Tatenhove began the 22-page opinion with an analysis of the Governor’s defensive arguments. First, the court found the argument that the executive order was “neutral and of general applicability [and] need not be justified by a compelling interest” uncompelling. The court reached this conclusion by inferring from a recent Sixth Circuit case called Maryville Baptist Church, Inc. v. Beshear that, even though Executive Order 2020-969 applied to both public and private schools, preschools, colleges, and universities in the state remain open. Thus, the order’s prohibition on in-person instruction was not narrowly tailored as required by case law. While the court recognized the severe impact of COVID-19 on Kentucky residents, it was not persuaded by the Governor’s reliance on the pandemic as a justification for the order: “If social distancing is good enough for offices, colleges, and universities within [Kentucky], it is good enough for religious private K-12 schools that benefit from constitutional protection.”

After a discussion of Danville Christian’s likelihood of success on the merits, the court noted that the remaining requirements for a preliminary injunction also weighed in favor of the school. First, the harm to the school would be irreparable, while in-person instruction while following the Center for Disease Control (CDC) guidelines would not harm Governor Beshear. Lastly, “public interest favors the enjoinment of a constitutional violation.”

The court also reviewed Danville Christian and the Attorney Generals’ Establishment Clause and Religious Freedom Restoration Act claims. Because Executive Order 2020-969 would survive the Lemon test and there are no applicable exceptions to the Governor’s sovereign immunity neither claim was sufficient for a preliminary injunction. The court expanded the injunction against the order to all religious schools throughout the state of Kentucky.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Jurist James Kent born

On July 31, 1763, James Kent, first professor of law at Columbia College, Chancellor of New York, and author of a four-volume set of Commentaries on American Law, was born near Brewster, NY. Learn more about James Kent.

Weimer Republic Constitution signed

On July 31, 1919, the Constitution of the German Reich was signed in Weimar, Germany as the country's post-empire foundational law. The document set up a full democracy in Germany with a President, Parliament, and independent judiciary. It also made Germany the first nation to give women the right to vote. The so-called Weimar Republic lasted until the rise of Adolf Hitler in 1933. Learn more about the Weimar Republic.