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SAN DIEGO (CN) — Religious schools in California have to abide by the state’s requirements for day care and educational facilities — including health and safety requirements related to Covid-19 masking — a federal judge ruled this week. “As noted by defendants, and in this court’s prior order on the first motion to dismiss, indignation is not injury and plaintiffs have provided no further grounds for standing to challenge the licensure requirement itself beyond that they do not want a preschool that operates at the pleasure of DSS through the state’s licensing scheme,” wrote U.S. District Judge Cynthia Bashant, a Barack Obama appointee, in her order issued Monday. The case revolves around a group of Christian churches in San Diego County that wanted to expand their child ministry services by setting up preschools for the children of their congregants. To start a religious school, they had to apply for a license from the state and abide by the California Child Day Care Facilities Act, which is enforced by inspections by the California Department of Social Services. The churches, including The Grove Church, Journey Community Church, and Foothills Christian Ministries did not want to comply with the state’s requirements, so […]