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An appeals court Friday ruled that state leaders violated the rights of parents by forcing private schools to stay closed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
However the Ninth Circuit appeals court essentially upheld the state’s decision to keep public schools closed to in-person instruction during the pandemic.
The appeals court ruling is the latest development in the lawsuit Brach v. Newsom, which was filed against Gov. Gavin Newsom last July by California public school and private school families, including two from San Diego. A national conservative group called The Center for American Liberty led the lawsuit effort.
The lawsuit challenged the state’s rules preventing K-12 schools from offering in-person instruction in counties with high COVID rates. The plaintiff families argued that the rules deprived their children of a meaningful education and violated their due process rights and equal protections under the 14th Amendment.
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An appeals court Friday ruled that state leaders violated the rights of parents by forcing private schools to stay closed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
But the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals essentially upheld the state’s decision to keep public schools closed to in-person instruction during the pandemic.
The appeals court ruling is the latest development in the lawsuit Brach vs. Newsom, which was filed against Gov. Gavin Newsom last July by California public school and private school families, including two from San Diego. A national conservative group called the Center for American Liberty led the lawsuit effort.
Pader Brach, executive director of regional operations with Emergency Management BC, said the system is being looked at for a variety of hazards, although he could not say if it would be in place for this wildfire season. We know that minutes count and we re certainly committed to making the Alert Ready system a priority, Brach told a news conference.
The system is already in use for tsunami threats and Amber Alerts, however it was not used during the heat dome in June in which the BC Coroners Service has said the typical death rate tripled.
Brach said Alert Ready would complement existing systems for issuing evacuation orders and other emergency information, not replace them.
B.C. says expanding emergency alert for wildfires is a priority, but no timeline set
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Helicopters fly past the Tremont Creek wildfire as it burns on the mountains above Ashcroft, B.C., on Friday, July 16, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
British Columbia’s emergency co-ordination agency says it’s working to expand its use of a public alert system for large-scale and potentially fatal disasters, as hundreds more residents have been forced from their homes because of wildfires.
Alert Ready is a Canada-wide system that allows government officials to issue public safety alerts through major television and radio broadcasters, as well as compatible wireless devices.
Firefighting backup from Quebec arrives tomorrow
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According to BC Wildfire Service, 112 ground personnel from Quebec will be arriving in BC tomorrow (Friday).
100 firefighters from Mexico will follow suit on Sunday.
“We’ve been lucky enough to secure military personnel, they are now in province staging out of Vernon, and we are currently briefing the military as we speak. We also continue to work with Australia to try and secure resources, we are making progress on that,” said Ian Meier with the BC Wildfire Service.
Meier mentioned that there were 3,193 people in BC battling the blazes, with 178 aircraft.
He also said 342,860 hectares have burned across the province and said the southern part of the province is seeing extremely dry conditions with no end in sight.