School Closures Violate the 1st Amendment?

In Kentucky, Attorney General Daniel Cameron is doing everything in his power to keep private religious schools open. He is suing the governor, Andy Beshear, for violating students' First Amendment rights by not allowing them the freedom to worship. 

Attorney General Daniel Cameron
Cameron stated, "...when you tell folks who send students to religious-affiliated schools, which is an act of worship itself, that they cannot go to school, it infringes upon the First Amendment rights."

Beshear stated that "they are treating everyone the same." He believes that since public schools are closing, private schools must also close, regardless of religious affiliations.

I do not see how this violates students' First Amendment rights. Schools can be a place of worship, but the reason for students not be allowed to go to school is because it is for the safety of the public. There is no malicious intent.

However, I do not believe the Governor should decide if all schools should close or not. Private schools tend to have less students than private schools, therefore, they can handle the spread of the virus better. Forcing them to close with a "one size fits all" mentality does not make logical sense. If a school can safely open, why would we prevent that from occuring?

Another negative to keeping schools closed are the mental affects on children. Evidence has shown that children are have become increasingly more depressed due to the isolation from others. Opening schools as soon as possible would help deter this from having an impact on children. 

I do believe popular constitutionalism should be applied at the state level for private schools. Public schools are government ran, so what the government says goes. However, I believe private schools should open if a majority of the parents want the school to open. I believe this would be the best way to have little conflict as possible.

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