The U.S. Department of Justice on Monday weighed in on a lawsuit that challenges New Mexico’s public health order concerning classroom capacity, which is deemed to be stricter for private schools than for public schools.
In a statement of interest (pdf), U.S. Attorney John Anderson says that the state has violated the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment by allowing public schools to operate at 50 percent of capacity, while limiting private schools to 25 percent of capacity for in-person classes.
