BURLINGTON, Ky. — A Boone County judge indicated Thursday he was entering an injunction allowing a return to 5-day-a-week in-person school for the county’s children March 22.
The judge said he would reserve a ruling on whether the lawsuit can achieve class-action status pending an appeal to the Kentucky Supreme Court by the defendant, the Boone County School District. Making this lawsuit eligible for class-action status would open the door to a return to five-day-a-week in-person school for students across the state.
Aaron Gillum and his attorney, Chris Wiest, joined other parents in Boone County in filing a lawsuit against the Boone County board of education and the district superintendent, claiming the district must reopen for full-time, in-person teaching.
Currently, 165 of 171 Kentucky school districts have already resumed in-person learning in some form.
On Tuesday, Gov. Andy Beshear announced an executive order recommending school districts resume or expand in-person instruction Monday or seven days after educators receive their second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
Beshear emphasized Tuesday that returning to in-person learning is still a local decision, and that the executive order is a recommendation.
To safely expand in-person learning, schools should consider universal masking, spacing students apart, offering a virtual option for students, evaluating school ventilation systems and reviewing Kentucky's COVID-19 incidence rate map to plan extra activities.
