Bishop Unified School District Settlement Agreement for Harming Students During COVID-19 Pandemic

 Bishop Unified School District to Pay $400,000 and Conduct Training for All Employees in Settlement Agreement for Harming Students During COVID-19 Pandemic

Bishop, California – May 11, 2023. With the help of retired U.S. Federal Judge Stephen G. Larson, Bishop Unified School District (BUSD) and a group of Parents who filed claims for damages for violation of their children’s civil rights finalized a settlement on April 27, 2023. Not only is the school district required to pay $400,000 because of the harm suffered by the children, BUSD must also provide counseling and tutoring for the students, and training for all BUSD faculty and staff on “public health, response to public health emergencies, informed consent, and bullying/harassment/retaliation issues.”

BUSD ignored federal informed consent laws and committed many civil rights violations, including discrimination, segregation, bullying, harassment, retaliation and denial of a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE). At one school, many healthy students were forced to remain outside in cold winter weather because they did not consent to wearing masks. Some unmasked students were segregated outside of classrooms while other children, also not wearing masks, were allowed to fully participate in normal classroom activities depending on the teacher

https://www.inyoregister.com/news/district-agrees-to-400-000-settlement-over-covid-policies/article_5c6ff8f8-efd6-11ed-8494-536fb53817e2.html