Punishing Disagreement W/ The State: CA Threatens Researcher Who Testified Pandemic Hurt Kids

“IT’S A GAG ORDER”: California Threatens Researcher Who Testified That Pandemic Closures Hurt Poor Kids.

“Thomas Dee, who has studied academic outcomes for 11 years at Stanford, submitted testimony last month in support of the families’ claims in a 2020 lawsuit that 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 taxpayer-funded data from the agency, he could not criticize the state in court.”

'Stanford University's Thomas Dee could face up to $50,000 in fines following testimony.'

'it’s "extreme" for the state to try to hold public data hostage in order to control what researchers say.'

Well it WAS unusual, they want to make gagging and censoring of non approved views, commonplace.

'California’s push to suppress unflattering testimony about its longest-in-the-nation school shutdowns comes amid mounting evidence that closures were disastrous for students. In California, urban districts in some cases failed to resume full in-person instruction until June 2021, prompting students to lose six years of academic gains. Just 24 percent of poor students in the state and 15 percent of black children, meanwhile, met math proficiency standards last year.'

So, some families sued and this researcher testified.

'The lawsuit’s plaintiffs are five low-income families from Los Angeles and Oakland, all black and Latino, who allege their kids had only sporadic and poor quality video instruction while classrooms remained shut.'

'The ACLU of Southern California says the state’s actions violate the First Amendment.'

Well that's unexpected, it seems like the ACLU has been siding with leftwing censorship. Perhaps they are rediscovering their mission.

Please discuss.