Lansing Catholic High School pushes back against COVID-19 orders

TUESDAY, Dec. 8 — A lawsuit filed in part by Lansing Catholic High School aims to get students back in the classroom as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread in Michigan.

 The Catholic Diocese of Lansing joined a federal lawsuit levied this week by the Michigan Association of Nonpublic Schools against Robert Gordon, director of the state Department of Health and Human Services. Their claim: State orders that closed high schools and prohibited in-person instruction through Dec. 20 violate First Amendment rights to practice religion.

Superintendent of Schools Tom Maloney alleged that the state’s’ recent decision to keep schools closed was made “without regard to the obvious and proven efficacy” of local mitigation plans.

 “The fact is, our high schools’ COVID-19 safety plans, with their robust health and safety protocols, are working well at protecting both our school communities and the community at large, while also ensuring that our young people can receive the in-person education and formation that is so irreplaceable to their spiritual, intellectual, emotional and social development,” Maloney said in a statement Monday.

 State officials ordered a 12-day extension this week to an epidemic order that restricts indoor social gatherings and other group activities and requires all high schools, colleges and universities continue with virtual learning through Dec. 20.

 The federal lawsuit, filed this week in the Western District of Michigan, named Father Gabriel Richard High School in Ann Arbor as well as Lansing Catholic High School as plaintiffs. It seeks an injunction to allow all members of the Michigan Association of Nonpublic Schools to open.

 A diocese statement that announced the lawsuit on Monday claimed the current state orders are “scientifically, educationally and constitutionally unjustified.” Among those listed as a party in the litigation is Dr. Christopher J. Abood, whose son attends Lansing Catholic High School.

 “We choose to send our son to a Catholic school because we firmly believe that the human person is both soul and body and that the practice of our faith demands certain physical elements, such as the reception of the Holy Eucharist and Sacrament of Reconciliation, that cannot be accomplished through video chats and other technological means,” Abood said. 

Diocese officials said that during three months of in-person instruction this fall, only 15 positive COVID-19 cases were detected at Lansing Catholic High School — all of which were believed to have been contracted off campus. Schools officials are also unaware of any in-school spread.

“The CDC and other national experts have indicated over and over that schools are safe places largely because they are closely regulated and supervised environments,” John DeJak, president of Father Gabriel Richard High School in Ann Arbor, said in a statement.

The lawsuit criticizes state officials for allowing retail, fitness centers, tattoo parlors, hair salons and other “secular” businesses to remain open while private schools remain closed. It also claims that Lansing Catholic High School wasted $102,000 to implement safety precautions.

Those protocols included face masks, social distancing and daily screenings for staff and students. Those who experienced symptoms related to COVID-19 were also asked to stay home. The building was also routinely sanitized as an added step to avoid the virus’ spread.

That investment is no longer being put to use with school buildings being closed, officials said.

“During the three months we had in-person education at Lansing Catholic there were no COVID-19 outbreaks and no hospitalizations of students or staff, thus adding no burden to our healthcare system,” added Dominic Iocco, president of the Board of Trustees of Lansing Catholic High School. “We simply want to continue with our tried and tested COVID-19 safety plan to safely educate and form our students consistent with our constitutional religious liberties.”