CHARLESTON — A third attempt to challenge the color-coded map and metrics for re-opening schools was thrown out after a Kanawha County judge ruled against the latest challenge to the metrics.
Kanawha County Circuit Judge Carrie Webster ruled against a motion for a preliminary injunction filed by the West Virginia Education Association to block the current metrics used to make school re-opening decisions.
Webster heard arguments from attorneys for the WVEA and Gov. Jim Justice in Charleston Friday.
“In this case, the governor of West Virginia is the person who is supposed to take charge,” Webster said. “When he adopts policies and procedures after a state of emergency has been declared, then this court would have to find, I believe, his acts to be arbitrary and capricious or unconstitutional or so overtly reckless before this court would intervene. This court cannot find he has.”
The WVEA filed the injunction against Justice seeking a preliminary injunction to block implementation of the County Alert System color-coded map and the metrics used to determine the colors.
WVEA President Dale Lee has accused Justice of forcing state health officials to change the metrics and color codes multiple times since unveiling the County Alert System plan in August in order to manipulate schools to re-open for in-person classes and to allow extracurricular activities, such as fall sports.
After Friday’s ruling, Lee said he was disappointed, but it was too soon to say whether the WVEA would appeal Webster’s ruling to the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals.
“We’re very disappointed in the ruling, but we knew it was a long shot to begin with,” Lee said. “We have an obligation to our members and the students of West Virginia to do everything to ensure their safety. The evidence we presented … just shows there are problems with the system and that we have to maintain the safety of our members, our educators, the students, and their families.”
Andrew Katz, the attorney for WVEA, said the court should order the state to follow the map and metrics created by the Harvard Global Health Initiative, which the state County Alert System map and metrics is loosely based on.
“What (Harvard) wants to look at is community spread, and the incidence rate is the most direct statistic on community spread,” Katz said. “We think the Harvard way is better. Even using the percent positive … we definitely think there is no scientific basis for saying we’re going to pick and choose the lesser of the two.”
The WVEA also asked the court to require the state to keep track of residents who get tested more than one time in a two-week period, release additional federal C.A.R.E.S. Act for school safety initiatives, and force the COVID-19 Data Review Panel to abide by the state Open Meetings Act and open their meetings and minutes to the public as they make decisions on the weekly County Alert System map.
Those motions were rejected.
Attorneys for the governor filed their own motion to dismiss the WVEA injunction request. Brian Abraham, general counsel for the Governor’s Office, was in attendance at Friday’s hearing but declined to comment on the decision.
Senior Deputy Attorney General Brent Wolfingbarger, during his arguments for dismissing the case, said the WVEA did not give the state the required 30-day notice. Wolfingbarger also argued that the courts have no jurisdiction regarding executive orders during a state of emergency, including orders that put in place the County Alert System map and metrics.
“The (WVEA) case is based on speculation,” Wolfingbarger said. “There’s no competent scientific evidence if their approach was put into place by this court over the Governor’s position that the kids would be any safer, the students would be any safer, or that the teachers would be any safer. There’s been no testimony that what they claim needs to be applied here in West Virginia would accomplish the results they’re promising the court.”
Webster, when rendering her decision, said it was not in the court’s best interest to try to decide what metrics the state should or should not use when determining school re-opening decisions.
Justice unveiled the County Alert System map and metrics on Aug. 14, which originally included green, yellow, orange, and red to denote the rise of cases per 100,000 people based on a rolling seven-day average of cases. Justice also issued executives orders allowing schools to re-open on Sept. 8. By Aug. 21, the metrics were changed to create a seven-day rolling average for counties with populations more than 16,000 and a 14-day rolling average for counties with less than 16,000 residents.
Since August, the County Alert System metrics have been tweaked multiple times with the most recent changes set on Sept. 25. The current incarnation of the metrics saw a gold color added as a transition between the green and yellow counties and the orange and red counties which are required to close and switch to distance learning. Green, yellow and gold counties can reopen, though restrictions on social distancing and mask-wearing requirement increase starting at yellow and gold, as well as limitations on sports and extracurricular activities.
"entry" - Google News
October 26, 2020 at 11:03AM
https://ift.tt/2J7kDdZ
Kanawha County Judge Upholds State School Re-Entry Map and Metrics - Wheeling Intelligencer
"entry" - Google News
https://ift.tt/3f5ZAUJ
https://ift.tt/3d6LMHD
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Kanawha County Judge Upholds State School Re-Entry Map and Metrics - Wheeling Intelligencer"
Post a Comment