{"id":1996570,"date":"2023-08-10T12:29:01","date_gmt":"2023-08-10T16:29:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/its-a-gag-order-california-threatens-researcher-who-testified-that-pandemic-closures-hurt-poor-kids\/"},"modified":"2023-08-10T12:33:37","modified_gmt":"2023-08-10T16:33:37","slug":"its-a-gag-order-california-threatens-researcher-who-testified-that-pandemic-closures-hurt-poor-kids","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/its-a-gag-order-california-threatens-researcher-who-testified-that-pandemic-closures-hurt-poor-kids\/","title":{"rendered":"California threatens researcher who testified pandemic closures hurt disadvantaged children."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fits-a-gag-order-california-threatens-researcher-who-testified-that-pandemic-closures-hurt-poor-kids%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1996570&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div>\n<blockquote>\n<h2>Stanford University&#8217;s Thomas Dee could face up to $50,000 in \u2064fines following testimony<\/h2>\n<\/blockquote>\n<figure><figcaption>\n<p>      \u2063     Stanford University \/ Wikimedia\u2064 Commons<br \/>\n \u200b   \u2064<br \/>\n    <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>California has threatened a Stanford University researcher with\u2064 a lawsuit and up to $50,000 in fines after\u2064 he testified on behalf of poor families suing the state over <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/minority-students-left-behind-as-white-house-teachers-unions-resist-reopening-schools\/\" title=\"Minority Students Left Behind As White House, Teachers\u2019 Unions Resist Reopening Schools\">pandemic school closures<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Thomas Dee, who has studied academic outcomes for 11 years at Stanford, submitted testimony \u200dlast month in support of the families\u2019 claims in a 2020 lawsuit \u200dthat the state harmed vulnerable children when they shut down classrooms and effectively stalled instruction. Within days, the California Department of Education sent him a letter claiming that because he works with\u200c taxpayer-funded data from the \u2062agency, he could not criticize the state in court.<\/p>\n<p>The\u200c agency alleged in its <a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/2023-08-08-4-Dee-Decl.-iso-Protective-Order.pdf\">letter<\/a> that he breached an agreement he signed on behalf of a\u2064 Stanford research project that uses\u2062 state data, and\u200b has warned that they may yank the project\u2019s access and fine Dee $50,000 unless he immediately works to \u2063&#8221;mitigate further damage.&#8221; Dee said in <a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/2023-08-08-4-Dee-Decl.-iso-Protective-Order.pdf\">court documents<\/a> that the agreement is\u200b completely separate from the testimony he offered for the lawsuit.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It\u2019s\u2064 a \u2062gag order,&#8221; said Williamson Evers, a \u200bsenior\u2064 fellow at the Independent Institute in Oakland and a former federal education official under President George \u2062W. Bush. \u2064He added that it\u2019s \u200d&#8221;extreme&#8221; for\u2062 the state to try to hold public data hostage in order to control what researchers say.<\/p>\n<p>California\u2019s push to suppress unflattering testimony about its longest-in-the-nation school shutdowns \u2063comes <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/report-biden-administration-shut-down-trump-era-probe-into-coronavirus-lab-leak-theory\/\" title=\"REPORT: Biden Administration Shut Down Trump-Era Probe Into Coronavirus Lab Leak Theory\">amid mounting evidence<\/a> that closures <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theatlantic.com\/newsletters\/archive\/2022\/10\/pandemic-school-closures-americas-learning-loss\/671868\/\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/www.theatlantic.com\/newsletters\/archive\/2022\/10\/pandemic-school-closures-americas-learning-loss\/671868\/&#038;source=gmail&#038;ust=1691693272071000&#038;usg=AOvVaw1Pq405DijPMDh3XpXQhTwk\">were \u200ddisastrous<\/a> for students. National test scores for kids who learned remotely\u2063 declined more \u200dthan those with in-person learning. In California, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ppic.org\/blog\/addressing-inequities-in-reopening-schools-during-covid\/\">urban \u200bdistricts<\/a> in\u2062 some cases failed to resume full in<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/calif-gov-newsom-announces-2b-plan-to-reopen-schools-by-spring\/\" title=\"Calif. Gov. Newsom announces B plan to reopen schools by spring\">-person instruction<\/a> until \u2063June 2021,\u2063 prompting students to lose \u200c <a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/campus\/california-school-closures-harmed-poor-and-minority-students-study-shows\/\">six years of academic gains<\/a>. Just 24 percent of\u200b poor\u2063 students in the state\u200c and 15 percent of\u2062 black children, meanwhile,\u200c <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/its-a-gag-order-california-threatens-researcher-who-testified-that-pandemic-closures-hurt-poor-kids\/\" title=\"California threatens researcher who testified pandemic closures hurt disadvantaged children.\">met math proficiency standards<\/a> last year.<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sfchronicle.com\/california\/article\/lawsuit-asks-california-schools-hurt-low-income-18204720.php\">lawsuit\u2019s plaintiffs<\/a> are \u200bfive\u200b <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/white-house-releases-list-of-president-trumps-accomplishments-and-it-is-historic\/\" title=\"White House Releases List of President Trump\u2019s Accomplishments \u2013  And It Is Historic!\">low-income families<\/a> from Los Angeles and \u200dOakland, all black\u2064 and Latino, who allege their kids\u200b had \u200bonly sporadic and poor quality video instruction while classrooms remained shut.<\/p>\n<p>Ahead of Dee\u2019s testimony, Department of Education officials warned both \u200bDee and\u2063 his\u200b Stanford colleague Sean Reardon\u2014who was also\u2063 set to testify\u2014that they could face sanctions if they spoke against the department in the case, said Michael Jacobs, a partner at the law firm Morrison and Foerster which is helming the parents\u2019 lawsuit.<\/p>\n<p>Reardon, who helped <a href=\"https:\/\/educationrecoveryscorecard.org\/\">with a major research project<\/a> on learning losses from school closures, ultimately opted not to testify \u2063because of the threat. Reardon did\u200d not respond to a request for comment sent through Stanford\u2019s Center for Education Policy Analysis.<\/p>\n<p>The ACLU of \u200cSouthern \u200cCalifornia <a href=\"https:\/\/edsource.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/ACLU-CDE-EdResearch-let-070723.pdf\">says<\/a> the state\u2019s actions \u2063violate the First Amendment. So far the state isn\u2019t budging on its position. In a filing last week, the California Justice Department defended the education agency\u2019s argument.<\/p>\n<p>Californa\u2019s\u200c deputy \u200dattorney general Elizabeth Lake <a href=\"https:\/\/www.documentcloud.org\/documents\/23897229-cde-research-dee-response-080123\">wrote<\/a> that the education\u200c department\u2019s &#8220;incentive&#8221; to audit\u2064 and \u2062evaluate its own programs\u2019 effectiveness would be &#8220;significantly \u2018chilled\u2019&#8221; if research partners were &#8220;free \u2064to profit by testifying as an expert witness \u200bin litigation rather than work cooperatively with CDE through publishing \u2063papers, engaging in public dialogue and \u200bdeveloping further research questions.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The California Department of Education did not respond to a\u200d request for comment.<\/p>\n<p>Evers of the Independent Institute said that since the state \u2064controls massive sets of data that\u200d researchers\u200c need to do their work, the case could have dire implications\u200d if the agency has its way.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;If they\u2019re faced with a choice \u200dof having access to this data, which they need to evaluate the effectiveness \u200bof the state programs, versus a\u200c gag order where \u200bthey can\u2019t say anything negative in\u2064 court, it\u2019s a very unhealthy thing for free speech, scholarship, and the rights of parents and taxpayers,&#8221; he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Stanford University&#8217;s Thomas Dee may be fined up to $50,000 and face a lawsuit from California. This comes after he testified in support of underprivileged families who sued the state due to pandemic-related school closures. Dee, an academic researcher, has extensively studied educational matters.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1604,"featured_media":1996571,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[544],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1996570","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-free-beacon"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1996570","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1604"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1996570"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1996570\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1996571"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1996570"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1996570"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1996570"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}