BREAKING: Ninth Circuit court unanimously says California cannot exclude Jewish children with disabilities from federal funding Ninth Circuit says California is wrongly denying special education funding to Jewish families & schools
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Ryan Colby 202-349-7219 media@becketlaw.org
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WASHINGTON – A federal appeals court ruled 3-0 today that California is violating the law by discriminating against religious parents and schools in its special-education programs. In an opinion authored by Judge Kim Wardlaw and joined by Judge Morgan Christen and Judge Mark Bennett, the court held that “we easily conclude that the nonsectarian requirement fails the neutrality test” required by the Constitution.
In Loffman v. California Department of Education, Orthodox Jewish parents, following their religious duty, are seeking to send their children with disabilities to Orthodox Jewish schools that would best serve their children’s needs. California politicians, however, have for decades banned certain special-education funding from being used at religious private schools—even though they have made that funding available to families whose children attend hundreds of non-religious private schools. Becket and Teach Coalition, an initiative of the Orthodox Union that advocates for equitable government funding for nonpublic schools, are working with these parents and schools to stop California from denying crucial services to Jewish children with disabilities.
“This is a massive win for Jewish families in California,” said Eric Rassbach, vice president and senior counsel at Becket. “It was always wrong to cut Jewish kids off from getting disability benefits solely because they want to follow their faith. The court did the right thing by ruling against California’s bald-faced discrimination.”
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is a federal law intended to ensure that children with disabilities receive an education that meets their unique needs. IDEA provides federal funding to states, including California, for special education programs in public schools. But public schools cannot always meet the needs of students with disabilities, so federal and state law allows that funding to be used at private schools that can provide this critical support. In California, however, politicians excluded religious private schools from this program, leaving religious parents with no opportunity to find a school that best meets their child’s unique needs.
Today, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals made clear that California cannot continue to exclude Jewish families and schools from participating in the IDEA program just because they are religious. The court’s panel agreed that California’s discriminatory approach was wrong, stating “We conclude that the statute on its face burdens the free exercise rights of parents.” In reaching its decision, the court relied on a string of Supreme Court decisions requiring equal treatment for religious people, including Trinity Lutheran, Espinoza, and Carson v. Makin.
California has 90 days to appeal the decision to the Supreme Court.