Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 28, 2020)
EDUCATION A8 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2020 Hermiston Christian School alleges discrimination in lawsuit Morrow County School District to start hybrid learning Oct. 28 By ANTONIO SIERRA STAFF WRITER By JADE MCDOWELL NEWS EDITOR A Hermiston private school, with a total enroll- ment of 51, is suing Gov. Kate Brown and several other state agencies with the help of a well-heeled conser- vative legal organization. Attorneys from the Arizona-based Alliance Defending Freedom fi led a complaint on behalf of Hermiston Christian School in federal court in Pendleton on Oct. 16. The complaint alleges that the governor was violating the school’s consti- tutional rights by forcing it to remain closed during the COVID-19 pandemic. “After 41 years of faithful service, Hermiston Christian School … could be forced to shut its doors for good unless the court stops an obvious case of discrimina- tion: Defendants’ COVID- 19 orders and guidance gen- erally prohibit in-person instruction but grant a ‘small school’ exception to public schools, while denying the same exception to private religious schools … in Uma- tilla County,” the attorneys wrote in the introduction. The lawyers wrote that the state’s actions violated the school’s First Amend- ment right to freedom of religion and 14th Amend- ment right to due process. In the complaint, the alliance draws compari- sons between Hermiston Christian School and Ukiah School, a public school with similar enrollment in the same county, albeit 80 miles away. While Ukiah was included in a list of small and remote schools that were allowed to reopen for in-person instruction, no private schools in the county, all of them religious, were afforded the same opportunity. The fi ling also lays out a timeline of changing reopen- ing standards, the law- Morrow County School District is allowing any student who wants to return to an in-person classroom to do so starting Wednesday, Oct. 28. The district had previ- ously been offering lim- ited in-person instruction for two hours a day to stu- dents in certain catego- ries, such as special edu- cation students or those without internet access at home. While most school districts in Oregon are still limited to that model (if they meet the standards for opening at all), the state laid out special guidelines for rural counties with fewer than 30,000 resi- dents and an average den- sity of six or fewer people per square mile. For those counties — a short list which includes Morrow County — schools can return to a “hybrid” model of learning that allows any students who wishes to attend classes in person the opportu- nity to do so, while those who wish to continue par- ticipating virtually can do so, if a county has fewer than 30 confi rmed cases of COVID-19 over a three Ben Lonergan/Hermiston Herald A sign directs visitors to the entrance of the Hermiston Christian School in Hermiston on Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2020. suit alleging that the state had advised private schools they could reopen in the fall before changing course on July 29. The school’s lawyers argue that the governor’s administration was moti- vated by a fear that allow- ing private schools to remain open, while most public schools stayed close, would lead to major disenrollment from the public school. One Brown staffer allegedly said it would cause a “mass exo- dus” in a conference call with administrators. The alliance is asking the court to not only issue a temporary restraining order that would allow Hermiston Christian School to reopen, but also grant the school damages for the social dis- tancing measures it installed in its facilities and for the potential enrollees who decided to go elsewhere because of the closure. The attorneys argued that in-person instruction was not only essential to the school keeping its lights on, but also its affi liate church’s ability to practice its faith. “In-person education is essential for (the school’s) free exercise of religion,” the complaint states. “(The school’s) mission is to teach its students what it means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ, not only through classroom education, but also through prayer, worship, and reli- gious formation that occurs in-person.” The alliance not only sued Brown, but also the leaders of several state agencies, including Oregon State Police, Oregon Health Authority and the Oregon Department of Education. All, including the governor’s offi ce, declined to comment or didn’t return a request for comment. The legal team also sued the heads of Umatilla County Public Health and the Umatilla County Sher- iff’s Offi ce. Public Health Director Joe Fiumara declined to comment, while Sheriff Terry Rowan said he was “shocked’’ because his deputies were never involved in this issue, but declined to comment further. Ryan Tucker, a senior counsel for the alliance, said they needed to include law enforcement agencies in the lawsuit because of their capacity to enforce the gov- ernor’s orders even if they hadn’t enforced them yet. While the alliance equated Ukiah School and Hermiston Christian School, the pandemic has affected each community disparately. Umatilla County Public Health has reported between 0-4 COVID-19 cases in the Ukiah area, while the Herm- iston ZIP code has more than 1,600, according to OHA. Despite these differences, Tucker said the state has already well established its case that the state was mak- ing its decision based on religious qualifi cations. week period. The local health department must also determine that the county is not experienc- ing “community spread,” defi ned as cases that con- tact tracers can’t deter- mine the origin. Morrow County’s past three weeks saw 11 cases, then 8, then 5, for a total of 24 confi rmed cases over three weeks. Superinten- dent Dirk Dirksen said the district decided jump on the chance to return stu- dents to the classroom while it could. “We can’t pass up this opportunity,” he said. Dirksen said schools will have different sched- ules under the hybrid model, but in general, elementary school stu- dents will have in-per- son learning in the morn- ing with students choosing to stay online watch- ing the instruction over video, while the after- noon will involve teachers working with all students online in small groups or individually. Secondary school stu- dents choosing to return to the classroom will stay in a single home room all day, with that teacher act- ing as a tutor as they inter- act with other teachers over video. “With COVID, we don’t want those kids moving around (the build- ing),” Dirksen said. “It’s a lot easier to track for the local health department.” Umatilla County, with a population more than twice the limit of 30,000, does not fall under the same metrics for reopen- ing schools. For most dis- tricts, including Herm- iston School District, current state guidelines say they can’t reopen to all students until their county sees fewer than 10 cases per 100,000 people (about eight cases a week in Umatilla County) for three weeks in a row and have a test positivity rate of less than 5% for three weeks in a row. Oregon as a whole must also experi- ence a less than 5% posi- tivity rate. According to the Ore- gon Health Authority’s latest calculations from Oct. 11 to Oct. 17, Uma- tilla County recorded 88 cases — or 108.4 cases per 100,000 residents — and a test positivity rate of 14.5%. Since test pos- itivity rate started being recorded July 26, Umatilla County’s lowest recorded rate was 12%. Here for you when you need us. Hard times happen. If they do, ask us about payment assistance and billing options available to you. Discover more at: www.UmatillaElectric.com Hermiston Office Boardman Office 750 W. Elm Ave. Hermiston, OR 97838 (541) 567-6414 400 N.E. Eldrige Drive Boardman, OR 97818 (541) 481-2220 NEW HEROES PROGRAM! www.BonneysAg.com Military, Firefighters, Medical Employees & Police ID REQUIRED SPECIAL INTRODUCTORY PRICING! RUGGED, RELIABLE, RED...AND THAT’S NO BULL!!! NEW 2205 BRANSON HYDRO TRANS Quick Latch Bucket $ 13,500 Zero down - $195/month 4.24% for 84 months, oac NEW 4x4 BRANSON 2515R 2200 Loader Lift Capacity Tractor with Loader - $ 19,500 OR Tractor Loader Backhoe w/ Thumb - $ 23,950 NEW BRANSON 3515CH Heat, A/C, Stereo, 3’ RD Function Hyd Value, 35hp with rebates ONLY - $ 28,500
