Parents’ Suit Over Covid-19 School Closures Tossed Over Standing

Parents of disabled students who sued Massachusetts officials over the closure of in-person education during the Covid-19 pandemic had their case tossed by the First Circuit on Monday.

Gov. Maura Healey (D), the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, and several other officials convinced the US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit to affirm the district court’s decision to dismiss the claims brought by the parents on their children’s behalf.

The parents alleged officials deprived the plaintiffs’ children of a free, appropriate public education, and encroached on the parents’ right to participate in that education. But none of ...