HUNTINGTON — Cabell County parents want to sue the state over what they say are inconsistencies with COVID-19 precautions in classrooms.
Sam Petsonk, the attorney representing the parents, said the parents will hold off on filing a complaint if the state fixes its inconsistencies.
“The families of children in the public schools of Cabell County are calling on the State of West Virginia to protect the fundamental rights of all children to receive a thorough, efficient, adequate, equitable, and free public education in the Mountain State — and that means safe learning environments that afford consistent protections for all children from infectious diseases like COVID-19," Petsonk wrote in a letter to the state. "Especially for medically-sensitive children with special needs, school-based precautions for prevention of COVID-19 must satisfy certain minimum standards."
Petsonk wrote that while local circumstances and sensibilities vary during public health crises, the state's laws require a certain minimum, evidence-based approach that the county currently lacks, which includes adherence to common metrics for assessing risks of potential exposure to COVID-19, and adoption of and adherence to exposure control plans that are based on and proportionate to those objective thresholds of risk in order to provide adequate protective measures that prevent mass illness.
"During the past year, Governor Justice commendably took consistent measures statewide to follow a risk-measurement system for potential infections (the color-coded county maps) and 10 control school-based exposures," the letter states. "Unfortunately, the State has lately departed from that consistent framework where interventions were required to be evidence-based and proportionate to the measured risk of potential exposures."
Petsonk wrote that now children are without adequate or equitable risk-assessment metrics or exposure control plans. He said his clients are looking forward to the county and state implementing a framework that "restores an evidence-based approach to protecting our children responsibly and equally during this school year and always."
Brian Abraham, Justice's chief of staff, replied in a letter to Petsonk that last year was different than this year — because vaccines weren't available and other protocols had to be put in place.
“I will note that last year, little was known about the disease and health experts and researchers the world over were learning exponentially more about the disease and potentially helpful mitigation measures daily,” Abraham wrote. “Most importantly, last year, the vaccination only became available in adequate quantities late in the school year. The vaccine has been available to children 12 and up for four months now, and has been available to the adult population for longer than that.”
The focus, Abraham wrote, is now on getting people vaccinated. He noted that the governor's policies had been challenged in court already several times and the courts agreed that the governor had the discretion to seek advice and recommendations from his expert team when it comes to the state's COVID-19 response.
"We do not believe entering into dialogue with you on these matters will benefit the students of this State," Abraham wrote. "Rather, the Governor will continue to rely on his experts to advise him and make recommendations regarding the health and safety of students throughout the state, as well as all other populations that make up our great citizenry."
Abraham said the parents were welcome to pursue any course they felt was appropriate.