Court rules in favor of Jewish families regarding special education funding in California

CNA Staff, Oct 28, 2024 / 17:20 pm

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled unanimously Monday in favor of a group of Jewish parents who argued that California is discriminating against religious parents and schools by excluding them from receiving funds from its special education programs.

Becket, the public-interest law firm that represented the parents, said in a press release that the Oct. 28 ruling makes it clear that California cannot continue to exclude Jewish families and schools from participating in a federal special education program just because they are religious.

“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.”

In the opinion, written 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.

A group of Jewish parents with children who require special needs education filed the lawsuit in March 2023 against the California Department of Education. Joined by two Jewish schools, the parents called for the state to provide religious schools with equal access to special needs education funding for their students.

At issue was a provision in California law restricting federal funds from the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) as well as state special education funding to public schools and secular private schools. IDEA funding helps pay for staff training, special education programs, assistive technology, and other services.

California law prohibits these funds from going to private religious schools, such as Catholic schools, Protestant Christian schools, Muslim schools, and any other religiously affiliated schools — including the Orthodox Jewish schools the plaintiffs want their children to attend. 

The plaintiffs in the case argued that California’s law discriminates against them based on their religion and prevents them from fully exercising their faith. California countered that its rules are necessary to avoid a violation of the establishment clause of the U.S. Constitution and that the state has a compelling interest in maintaining neutrality toward religion by excluding all “sectarian” schools.

The court agreed with the plaintiffs, finding that the nonsectarian requirement placed a burden on the families’ free exercise of religion by forcing them to choose between receiving public special education benefits and educating their children in an Orthodox Jewish setting.

Becket noted that the court’s ruling in Loffman v. California Department of Education drew on several recent Supreme Court decisions that mandate equal treatment for religious people, including Trinity Lutheran Church of Columbia, Inc. v. Comer, Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue, and Carson v. Makin.

Josephine Staton, a federal judge for the Central District of California, had originally dismissed the Jewish families’ lawsuit on Aug. 9, 2023. The families then appealed to the 9th Circuit.

California has 90 days to appeal the most recent decision to the U.S. Supreme Court.