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.
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.
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.
This left the 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.
The state will now decide whether it wants to appeal the case to the Supreme Court.
The parents are represented by The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty.
“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.”
A number of Jewish organizations and law professors joined the case as Amicus Curiae, including Jewish Coalition for Religious Liberty, The National Council of Young Israel, The Rabbinical Council of North America, and Torah Umesorah, Agudath Israel of America.
"We are excited to share that today’s decision says that California is violating the law by discriminating against Jewish parents and schools in its special-education programs. In so doing, the court has set in motion the mandate for California to right its wrongs and create a path for educational equality. We applaud all the plaintiffs in this case, who took it upon themselves to embark on this effort – our community stands with you and is grateful for your contribution to Jewish education in California and across the country," stated Teach Coalition, an initiative of the Orthodox Union that advocates for equitable government funding for nonpublic schools.
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