The 1889 Institute has been operating normally despite a member of its team having come down with the dreaded COVID-19 (since recovered, along with his wife, and a child who suffered no ill effects whatsoever). 1889 has written a series of blogs critical of government overreaction, including:

• 1889 Institute’s Statement Regarding School Closures
• Smart People in Charge Screwing Up: Panic over COVID-19
• A Cure Withheld: Education Establishment Kneecapping Distance Learning Already in Place
• In Response to COVID-19, the Oklahoma Supreme Court Claims Power to “Suspend” Valid Laws

Over the last few months, 1889 Institute has published policy papers regularly and have seen bills filed in the areas of occupational licensing, court reform, and limiting school district size that would implement some of 1889’s past policy recommendations. Recent papers include one critical of private investigator licensing, one critical of the “food desert” concept, a 50-state tax/spending comparison, and a critique of American Bar Association law school accreditation. In early January, 1889 Institute also submitted an amicus brief to the United States Supreme Court supporting freedom from mandatory bar membership requirements in Fleck v. Wetch.