Parents File Lawsuit Against Montco Over School Closure Decision

NORRISTOWN, PA — Parents upset with local officials over the recent decision to close schools for two weeks in Montgomery County are taking their case to court. A suit filed Thursday alleges numerous violations of the state's Sunshine Act in the way in which public meetings were conducted and a final decision was reached.

The suit, which names Montgomery County Commissioners Val Arkoosh and Ken Lawrence, as well as the five members of the county Board of Health, echoed the concerns of many local parents and school administrators who felt the move was government overreach. The order will keep students home from school from Nov. 23 through Dec. 6, citing an anticipated rise in cases following Thanksgiving gatherings.

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"As parents, educators, and concerned citizens, we have seen the damage inflicted on our children by the continued isolation, lack of cognitive stimulation, and substandard virtual education being delivered by our districts," three Montgomery County residents, John Niehls, Liz Weir, and Kaitlin Derstine, said in announcing the suit. "Decisions with this magnitude of impact must be done transparently and in accordance with all applicable laws and statutes. In this case, the County failed to meet that bar."

In a statement, a spokesperson for Montgomery County told Patch that the state charges local boards of health with ensuring the well-being of citizens.

“We recognize that a number of parents may be unhappy with the decision of the Board of Health," the spokesperson said. "However, as their legal filings indicate, the Board possesses the legal authority to take this action, and they instead seek to attack the process by which this order was issued. We are confident that this attack will fail, as the meeting where this action was taken was properly advertised, public comment was permitted, and the final vote was held until the following day to permit further comments to be submitted via email for consideration by the Board.”

While protesters have planned three demonstrations this week arguing against the order's impacts, the actual text of this new lawsuit focuses on procedural elements utilized by officials in reaching their decision.

Specifically, the complaint points to the fact that the hearing was not broadcast live for the public to watch or hear, but instead required access via a Zoom call. This call was limited to 500 participants, which left hundreds unable to participate.

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Another claim in the suit points to the private nature of the Board of Health's deliberations. Following a three-hour public meeting on Thursday morning, the Board adjourned and came back with a final decision Friday morning.

A third count in the suit says that the county violated state law by not allowing public comment again at the Friday meeting, because there were notable changes to the text of the proposed order. Chief among those changes was a note explicitly stating that the two week closure would end Dec. 6 and would not be extended.

The county said they gave the public opportunity to comment by email.

The trio of parents who filed the suit said that beyond the protests, their movement has drawn bipartisan support from thousands online. A Facebook group focused on reversing the closures, Parents for In-Person Education, has more than 4,300 members.