Redding, CA — A Christian boarding school in Northern California won a reprieve in court today against the state of California’s efforts to shut it down. The dispute centers on the state’s unilaterally re-labeling of the school as a “community care facility.” That label would force the school into heavy regulation by the state’s department of social services, including mandates that would violate the school’s religious mission.
Over the weekend, Judge Tamara Woods of the Shasta County Superior Court issued a tentative ruling denying the state’s motion for preliminary injunction, in which the state sought to force the school’s closure. The judge expressed concern with the First Amendment implications of the state’s demands. Following oral argument this week, the judge adopted her tentative ruling in favor of the school.
The school at the center of this case is River View Christian Academy. The school is located in rural Shasta County in Northern California and is operated as a ministry of Teen Rescue, a religious non-profit.
In January of this year, the school was raided by the state. The raid consisted of 16 armed law enforcement from the California Highway Patrol, 2 canine units, and 17 social workers. The state later admitted the raid was prompted by an internet rumor put forward by an online tabloid. The state was duped into thinking the school housed illegal drugs, stockpiled weapons, and was preparing for an end-times apocalypse. Yet the Waco-style raid turned up no such evidence.
Instead of retreating from its dangerous blunder, the state doubled down and began imposing daily fines against the school for allegedly operating as an “unlicensed community care facility.” This is in spite of the fact that the state has confirmed three times over the past 10 years that River View is operating legally as a school. River View has operated as a private school for the past 25 years, filing an annual affidavit with the California Department of Education as do other private schools and homeschools in the State.
The above comes from a Nov. 20 release emailed by the Pacific Justice Institute.
Who knows a good ‘ambulance chasing’ lawyer? If the facts stated in the article prove correct, then my non-lawyer gut feel is the school and perhaps others may well have a claim against certain California State agencies.
Our churches better get busy, with evangelization! I just read that New York State now requires all churches and religious schools and hospitals, to hire pro-abortion and pro-LGBT employees! Our Church leaders need to “wake up,” ASAP!!
Our Church leaders need to “wake up,” ASAP!! New York State now has laws that require all churches, and religious schools and hospitals, to hire pro-abortion and pro-LGBT employees!
State officials interviewed 29 current students who raised many of the same issues first detailed in the BuzzFeed News story — and added more concerns, according to court documents. The students claimed they couldn’t call 911 if they had to report an emergency or abuse, were forced to stand outside at night in the cold for a half hour if they misbehaved, and had their shoes confiscated. Students reported to the state agents that they’d been forced to eat only peanut butter sandwiches for up to six months at a time as a punishment. At least two students told state investigators that when they were physically sick, staff members gave them essential oils or “home remedies” instead of traditional medical care, according to sworn declarations filed by the state. In one declaration, a Department of Social Services official stated that at least two children said they told River View staffers they wanted to kill themselves but weren’t allowed access to a counselor because they had not “earned [behavior] level C.”
If this is true then the raid may have been justified.
BuzzFeed is not a reliable news source. BuzzFeed states in its editorial guide that “we firmly believe that for a number of issues, including civil rights, women’s rights, anti-racism, and LGBT equality, there are not two sides.” And, look at where their funding comes from. A Pew Research Center survey found that in the United States, BuzzFeed was viewed as an unreliable source by the majority of people, regardless of political affiliation. Brad Dacus and the Pacific Justice Institute are much more reliable sources. Here’s a link to an article from The Christian Post, if you’d like to learn more:
https://www.christianpost.com/news/christian-school-raided-by-california-govt-as-religious-freedom-concerns-cloud-future.html