Gov. Andy Beshear's executive order halting in-person classes will remain essentially, after the U.S. Top court decided Thursday not to take up Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron's challenge from the order on grounds it violates religious freedom.
“Under all of the circumstances, especially the timing and the impending expiration of the Order, we deny the application without prejudice,” the justices wrote inside a Thursday opinion.
The justices note that Beshear's order will expire soon. But they leave open the chance the suit could be brought again, if, for instance, Beshear renews his executive order.
Justices Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch dissented.
Beshear welcomed the news throughout his evening briefing.
“In no way were religious schools treated any differently,” Beshear said. “We asked everybody to help make the same sacrifice-.and you know what, we see with this along with other steps it having stopped an exponential growth which was threatening our hospital capacity.”
Beshear's order directed all schools, public and private, to maneuver to remote instruction until Jan. 4 in order to curb an outburst in coronavirus cases in November. Cases and deaths continue to be growing, but officials say the rate of growth is a lot slower than it was prior to the order entered effect.
Cameron, together with Danville Christian Academy and lots of other parents and religious schools over the state had sued Beshear, saying the order impinges on their own freedom to exercise their faith through religious schooling.
Beshear's order has now survived multiple requests for any preliminary injunction opponents hoped would block it from taking effect on private religious schools. However the courts have yet to decide the situation on its merits.
