Other stuff

To the extent there was ever justification for closing schools, emerging research demonstrates it has been an extremely long time since any such justification evaporated. Research from Wharton shows the severe, lifelong cost of losing out on two or three semesters of education.

This is the fifth in a series of posts reminding us we have completed one year of “fifteen days to smooth the curve.” In California, we have started our second year of curve smoothing.

10/12/20 – Penn Wharton School of University of Pennsylvania, Budget Model website – Covid: Trade-offs in School Reopening – Detailed economic analysis is thoroughly devastating to any argument there is any value in keeping schools closed and in fact there are substantive questions whether there was any value to closing any schools.

Summary

There will be permanent damage to the education level of most students with a serious adverse impact on lifetime earnings with a disproportionate impact on kids who are poor kids, disadvantaged kids, and persons of color.

Read the full article. Please.

Recap of the highlights:

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Articles describing the destruction in the education world have been noticable to me over the last several weeks. Most of the articles have discussed the devastation in primary and secondary education.

Here are a few articles describing disruption in higher education:

• Alternatives to traditional non-campus higher education are growing.
• What might a post-covid higher education world look like? One scenario.
• Lots of class-action suits against colleges for refunds are getting dismissed.

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Destruction in the education world has been noticable to me over the last several weeks. Most of the articles have discussed the devastation in primary and secondary education. There will also be major disruption in higher education.

Today’s articles:

• 3 million missing kids.
• Kids from poorer neighborhoods will suffer most from lost education.
• Last December UNICEF warned against keeping schools closed.

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Devastation on kids caused by the lockdown is becoming more visible with every day that passes. A few articles pointing this out:

• Mental health of schoolchildren has suffered.
• Even CDC finds kids are suffering.
• It is past time to fix the mistake.

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The craziness from government officials is getting worse instead of better.

The Peel school district, headquartered in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada posted an official “recommendation” of a 14 day solitary quarantine for any child in the district sent home because someone else in the student’s classroom tested positive.

Yes, you read that right. If any child in a classroom is sent home because of a positive test, that means that every student in the classroom will be sent home.

Not only that, but the school district also “recommends” every child in the classroom be quarantined, by themselves, in a separate room, for 14 days.

No contact with mommy. No contact with daddy. No contact with siblings. No contact with anyone else.

In case you think I’m making this up, check out this coverage:

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Apparently neither officials in Santa Clara County nor a panel of the Ninth circuit Court of Appeals were able to read the injunction issued by the Supreme Court or that the state allowed indoor worship.

After the injunction allowing indoor worship was issued and after the state of California allowed indoor worship up to 25% of capacity, it should have been obvious to officials in the county and all the judges on the Court of Appeals that indoor worship was allowed.

Seems like said officials and judges were not able to comprehend the order.

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Effective 2/6/21, the state of California will allow indoor worship services, with attendance limited to 25% of capacity. The revised public health order can be found here.

The health order says the linked guidance found here for places of worship is being updated. The document, COVID-19 Industry Guidance: Places of Worship and Providers of Religious Services and Cultural Ceremonies, requires social distancing and specific cleaning protocols.

It also bans singing and chanting.

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The destruction caused by the shutdown is frightening. The cost continues to mount with every week the economy is shattered by government edict.

Here is a small sampler of articles visible over recent weeks:

• Damage to schoolkids is severe and could be permanent.
• One out of five renters in the country are behind – how will he ever catch up?
• Over half a million employees in the higher education sector have lost their jobs.

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In two rulings late on Friday, 2/5/21, the Supreme Court issued emergency injunctions in favor of two California churches allowing them to resume in-person worship services on 2/7/21.

The longer ruling with multiple concurring or dissenting opinions was issued on behalf of South Bay United Pentecostal Church, located in San Diego. The follow-on injunction, issued after the first, is shorter. It was issued on behalf of Harvest Rock Church, with its main campus in Pasadena, California and a large number of other campus locations around the state.

The day after the rulings were issued, Gov. Newsom’s office said the state will revise its public health orders regarding indoor worship services. For a brief reference on the issue see In Valley Daily bulletin on 2/6/21 – Newsom says state will revise indoor worship guides after Supreme Court ruling.

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Well, that didn’t take long.

On Thursday, 1/21/21 the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals denied an appeal from South Bay United Pentecostal Church, in Chula Vista, California, requesting an injunction to allow them to worship indoors.

On Monday, 1/25/21, the church filed an emergency appeal with the United States Supreme Court requesting an immediate injunction.

This case was discussed yesterday: With eyes tightly closed, District courts and Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals rule than ban on indoor worship is a perfectly acceptable infringement on Free Exercise clause.

To end the irreparable harm caused by unwarranted infringement on free exercise clause of the First Amendment, the church requested an injunction in order to allow worship by 1/31/21. The state of California has until 1/29/21 to file their response.

The church’s attorney explained why the church is back at the Supreme Court and why church leadership is so confident SCOTUS will issue an injunction:

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Two federal district judges and two different panels of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals closed their eyes ever so tightly to prevent them from reading either the First Amendment or the very strong, very clear Supreme Court injunctions as they ruled that California’s rule prohibiting all indoor worship while in tier 4 is perfectly fine.

Pasadena News reports on 1/25/21 Harvest Rock Church Wins One, Loses One.

Catholic News Agency reports on 1/25/21 Appeals court rules on California churches that challenged Covid restrictions.

10 News reports on 1/23/21 – Appeals Court denies Chula Vista churches request reopen (sic)

Harvest Rock

Harvest Rock’s lawsuit against the ban on indoor worship service was reheard by the District Court after the Supreme Court issued a powerful injunction shredding every rationalization for banning worship services.

In spite of the exquisitely clear explanation in the injunction, on 12/22/20 the District Court found the restrictions on indoor worship to be perfectly reasonable and not at all an infringement on the First Amendment.

Harvest Rock appealed the decision. Sometime late last week (exact date is not clear to me) a panel of the 9^th Circuit ruled against the church, finding the ban on indoor worship was acceptable.

While the panel’s inability to read Supreme Court injunctions is as surprising as it is unfortunate, the good news is this clears the way for the Supreme Court to address the issue directly. Again.

The church is moving forward with an appeal to the Supreme Court.

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