Push to reopen private schools arrives in federal court
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A federal judge on Wednesday weighed whether pandemic-related occupancy limits on private schools in New Mexico violate constitutional rights to equal protection and freedom of assembly, in a case closely watched by the Trump administration.
The lawsuit by the father of a 7th-grader at a prep school in Albuquerque says the state is violating the U.S. Constitution by setting more stringent restrictions at private schools regarding the return to classrooms, as the coronavirus rages unchecked by vaccines. The school in question, Albuquerque Academy, is providing online instruction only — though some private schools have resumed in-person instruction.
A state public health order limits in-person instruction to 25% of maximum room capacity, while the public schools can submit reopening proposals to the state Public Education Department with guidelines for a 50% occupancy limit or allowances for 6-feet of social distancing.
Plaintiff's attorney Deena Buchanan described the plaintiff's daughter is a shy middle-school student who is cut off from vital social and academic interaction — while far more people legally assemble in preschools, houses of worship and retail stores.
“Hundreds of people can be in a Home Depot and thousands can be in an Albuquerque church,” Buchanan said. “But less than a handful are allowed to be in a classroom in Albuquerque Academy only because it's a private school.”
The administration of Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham says private schools already occupy a privileged position with minimal state oversight and resources that allowed some to reboot in-person instruction before comparable public schools.
Private schools in New Mexico enroll about 22,000 students — or nearly 7% of school-aged children.
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