Charges have been filed in the case of a high school party in Sudbury, Massachusetts, that led to the local school district moving to remote learning for the start of the year, police said Monday.
Parents and a juvenile are facing charges for violating the state's social host law, Sudbury police said. The parents will face the charges in Framingham District Court while the child's charge was filed in Framingham Juvenile Court.
Police didn't name the people facing charges in the case.
Authorities have estimated that 50-60 high schoolers attended the party and that many weren't wearing masks or social distancing.
Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School announced last week that it would go remote for the 14 days of the year after it had planned to open in a hybrid model.
Superintendent and Principal Bella Wong said an estimated 15 students ran into the woods and another 13 students gave police false information, which meant school and health officials were unable to identify, test, monitor and isolate students who might have been exposed to COVID-19.
“After the intensity of hard work and planning that has been done to be able to start school with students in-person, we are profoundly disappointed at this sudden change of plans,” Wong said in a letter to parents at the time.
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The Sudbury Board of Health asked anyone who attended the party to be tested for COVID and to notify both the Health Department and the school district if students become symptomatic.
A similar situation unfolded in the Dover-Sherborn Regional School District, where a shift to remote learning to begin the year was brought on by another gathering of students not practicing social distancing.
