Class action was authorized against 113 private schools in the Montreal Metropolitan Community (CMM) for distance education offered during confinement during the first wave of the pandemic, between March 13 and June 30, 2020.
The parents of 47,000 students are demanding a partial refund of the tuition fees paid during this period when the children had to follow their lessons from their homes. This approach was initiated by parents Stéphanie Bernard and Pierre-André Fournier.
These parents of students “allege that, given the closure of schools due to the COVID-19 pandemic and government orders, the provision of schools has not been in accordance with the contracts for educational services, in that the services were not provided in person, with care and supervision of the children, in an environment allowing students to acquire social skills between children, nor in the amount agreed for the 2019-2020 school year ”, indicates a message sent Tuesday to parents.
“These allegations remain to be proven in a trial. The defendant schools deny these allegations and intend to fully contest the class action ”, specifies the message signed by Me Sébastien A. Paquette and Me Jeremie John Martin, of the firm Champlain lawyers, who represents the parents in the Superior Court of Quebec.
The Federation of Private Educational Institutions said it would not comment.
Further details will follow.
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