Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/20pdf/20a96_e29g.pdf
Page Number: 1.0

Cite as:  592 U. S. ____ (2020) 

1 

ALITO, J., dissenting 

SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES 

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No. 20A96 
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DANVILLE CHRISTIAN ACADEMY, INC., ET AL v. 
ANDY BESHEAR, GOVERNOR OF KENTUCKY 

ON APPLICATION TO VACATE STAY 

[December 17, 2020] 

  On November 18, the Governor of Kentucky issued a tem-
porary  school-closing  Order  that  effectively  closes  K–12 
schools for in-person instruction until and through the up-
coming  holiday  break,  which  starts  Friday,  December  18, 
for many Kentucky schools.  All schools in Kentucky may 
reopen after the holiday break, on January 4.  A religious 
private  school  and  the  Attorney  General  of  Kentucky 
sought a preliminary injunction against the school-closing 
Order  as  applied  to  religious  schools.    The  District  Court 
granted a preliminary injunction, but the Sixth Circuit then 
stayed that injunction pending appeal. 
  The  Governor’s  school-closing  Order  effectively  expires 
this week or shortly thereafter, and there is no indication 
that it will be renewed.  The Order applies equally to secu-
lar schools and religious schools, but the applicants argue 
that  the  Order  treats  schools  (including  religious  schools) 
worse than restaurants, bars, and gyms, for example, which 
remain  open.    For  the  latter  reason,  the  applicants  argue 
that the Order is not neutral and generally applicable for 
purposes of Employment Div., Dept. of Human Resources of 
Ore. v. Smith, 494 U. S. 872 (1990).  Several amici support-
ing the applicants argue in the alternative that even if the 
Order is neutral and generally applicable because it treats 
religious schools the same as secular schools, Smith still re-
quires heightened scrutiny when the “application of a neu-