6th Circuit finds no “hint of hostility toward religion” in Kentucky governor’s COVID-19 order halting in-person schools

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear’s latest COVID-19 order, which halted in-person learning in both public and private elementary and secondary schools across the state in response to the recent surge in cases, will remain in full force after a unanimous federal appeals panel ruled it is likely to withstand a constitutional challenge brought by a private Christian school and the state’s attorney general. The court in Danville Christian Academy v. Beshear rejected the plaintiffs’ argument that the governor’s action violates religious freedom rights under the First Amendment and the Kentucky Religious Freedom Restoration Act.