Ida forces two-week closure of New Orleans law schools, return to online Sept. 13 - Reuters

A man walks past a damaged electric line in a street after Hurricane Ida made landfall in Louisiana, in New Orleans, Louisiana, August 30. REUTERS/Marco Bello

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(Reuters) - New Orleans’ law schools will remain closed for at least two weeks as the city recovers from Hurricane Ida and workers try to restore power to more than one million people in Louisiana -- a task that could take a month or more.

Tulane University Law School and Loyola University New Orleans School of Law have told students that all classes are canceled through Sept. 12 and will resume online Sept. 13. Neither campus sustained significant damage when Ida came ashore as a Category 4 hurricane, but both are currently without power.

“City officials are asking people not to come back to the city, even though we have blue skies, because we don’t have power,” said Loyola New Orleans Law Dean Madeleine Landrieu in an interview from her home, which was also without power.

By committing to restart classes online, the school hopes students won't feel pressured to stay near New Orleans in anticipation of a quick campus reopening, Landrieu said.

Some law students from harder-hit parishes around the state reside in homes that sustained wind damage from Ida, Landrieu said. They need time to focus on recovery without the added stress of attending class, she said.

While Ida did not produce significant flooding, unlike Hurricane Katrina 16 years ago, its winds reached 150 miles per hour and at least four people have died during the storm and its aftermath. High temperatures are also compounding the state’s challenges, as many people are without air conditioning.

Tulane Law is planning to continue Zoom classes through at least Oct. 8, dean David Meyer said in a message to students.

“Students, faculty and staff should use the days immediately ahead to relocate to safe temporary quarters from which they can work and study remotely during this period,” Meyer wrote. “Once recovery work has restored power and other infrastructure, we will transition back to instruction on campus.”

Tulane is providing a bus service to Houston for students who need assistance evacuating New Orleans, where they can fly to their preferred temporary destinations.

Meyer said in an email on Tuesday that the law school will be scheduling makeup classes to ensure students meet the class time requirements set by the American Bar Association.

Landrieu said Loyola expects to meet those class hour requirements by rescheduling classes on Fridays -- when most classes do not meet -- holding classes during the school’s fall break and extending the semester by several days.

Baton Rouge’s two law schools have also announced closures. Both Louisiana State University Paul M. Hebert Law Center and Southern University Law Center are slated to reopen Sept. 7. LSU’s campus has power, said interim law dean Lee Ann Wheelis Lockridge, though much of the city does not.

“The closure is primarily related to conditions in the rest of the city and sensitivity to the needs of students, faculty, and staff who would have difficulty returning during this week due to what has happened,” she said.

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source: https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/ida-forces-two-week-closure-new-orleans-law-schools-return-online-sept-13-2021-09-01/

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