Brach v. Newsom

Overview

Brach v. Newsom (U.S. Court of Appeals, 9th Circuit, July 23, 2021): Parents and a student sued California state officials, arguing that extended COVID-19 restrictions on in-person learning were unconstitutional. The 9th Circuit concluded that plaintiffs’ complaints could be addressed and were not moot, despite the fact that the policies had recently changed. The court further determined that, with respect to public education, the plaintiffs did not possess any constitutional due process right to “have the State affirmatively provide an education in any particular manner.” The court also found no equal protection violation with respect to restrictions on public schools. Yet, when applied to private schools, the court concluded that California’s restrictions implicated parents’ rights to educate their children in the manner they wished and sent the case back to the lower court for further assessment of these specific due process and equal protection arguments. Read the full decision here.

View all cases in the Judicial Trends in Public Health – September 15, 2021.

View all cases under “Public Health Emergency: Legal Preparedness & Response.”