MADISON, Wis. (AP) - A group of parents and private religious schools wants the Wisconsin Supreme Court to nullify a Dane County order barring in-person classes for most students.
The conservative Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty filed a petition Wednesday on behalf of 14 parents and five religious schools as well as interest groups for the state’s school-voucher program and religious schools.
The petition challenges the authority of Janel Heinrich, director of Public Health Madison and Dane County, the Wisconsin State Journal reported. Heinrich issued an order allowing schools to offer in-person instruction to grades three through 12 only under certain conditions.
The order, which took effect Monday, applies almost entirely to private schools, since public schools in Dane County already decided to start the year online for almost all students in almost all grades.
In the WILL petition and a separate one filed on behalf of Fitchburg mother Sara Lindsey James on Tuesday, attorneys argue Heinrich doesn’t have authority under state law to close schools and that the Public Health order runs counter to the decision the state Supreme Court made in May striking down the statewide stay-at-home order.
Public Health denied to comment on the lawsuits.
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