A lawsuit pitting Montreal parents against the Quebec government over at-home education concluded final arguments in Quebec Superior Court on Friday, as parents ask for the right to opt for at-home learning for their child amid the COVID-19 crisis.
On Thursday, lawyer Julius Grey who is representing the plaintiffs, argued that it’s a matter of who has the right to chose what’s best for individual families — parents or the government.
The legal action, brought on by six parent plaintiffs, is asking for parents’ ability to decide whether to physically send their children to school or not. Currently, only students with medical conditions or at-risk family members living in their homes are permitted to learn at a distance full-time.
Government lawyers Maryse Loranger and Stéphanie Garon argued that the province’s decision to request that all children physically attend school unless medically exempt is a well thought-out, calculated risk.
READ MORE: Quebec Superior Court begins hearing final arguments in trial over at-home learning
“It’s about providing all children with the same chance of academic success,” Loranger and Garon told the judge.
The government argued that schools do not have all the supplies necessary to provide for at-home learning and that the level of education a child gets at home is inferior. It argued that student-teacher and student-peer relationships are crucial for the socialization of young children that are learning how to interact with others and respect rules.
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Loranger and Garon added that many low income families rely on school meal programs to feed their kids and that the well-being of children — especially vulnerable children — needs to be checked in on by educators.
“Students with learning disabilities and with anxiety need in person teaching,” the lawyers said, adding that staring at a screen all day is not beneficial to their learning development and mental health.
READ MORE: Montreal mothers battle Quebec government in court over distance learning for children
On Thursday, Grey argued that lower-income families will suffer due to smaller living spaces as well as relying on grandparents for childcare. Several of the plaintiffs in the case also have ill parents that they need to care for and are worried about transmitting the virus from their child.
“We are not contesting the opening of schools. We are contesting the right to chose — it should be up to each individual family to choose what’s best for them,” Grey said.
Premier François Legault has, however, continuously reiterated his position that sending kids to school is important.
“I understand there’s a risk bringing kids back to schools,” Legault said in early January, “but we have to put into balance that there are other disadvantages to keeping them at home.”
Legault has insisted that children should stay away from senior citizens who can get the virus from asymptomatic youth.
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