Private schools in Dane County are pushing back — including weighing a potential lawsuit — against an order from the local health department that suspends most in-person instruction for the start of the new school year during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Heads of private schools say an order issued Friday by Public Health Madison and Dane County requiring schools to teach students in grades 3-12 solely online is overly broad and poorly timed, and upends plans to give parents a choice between face-to-face or virtual learning options for their children.
The order, which applies to both public and private schools, took effect Monday.
“We’ve been operating as a child care and a summer school all summer and have had no problems here,” said Tia Sierra, principal of Lighthouse Christian School in Madison.