A group of Jewish parents of children with disabilities filed a federal lawsuit with the Central District of California on Monday alleging that state legislation discriminates against religious communities by excluding religious schools from access to federal and state funding.
In Loffman v. California Department of Education, three sets of Jewish parents from California are targeting a state law that prevents educational funding from going to religious institutions for children with disabilities, although financial assistance is offered to disabled kids wishing to attend similar secular private schools.
“It takes a special kind of chutzpah to deny Jewish kids with disabilities equal access to special education benefits,” said Eric Rassbach, the vice president and a senior counsel with the Becket Fund for Religious Liberity, which is representing the parents. “California politicians can end this unlawful discrimination the easy way or the hard way. Either they change the law that is hurting children with disabilities, or they can shamefully fight in court for the right to discriminate.”
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), signed into law by President George H. W. Bush in 1990, is a federal law that provides grants to states aimed at helping children with disabilities enjoy a tailored learning experience.
IDEA funding is used to cover learning essentials for students with disabilities, including staff training, special education programs, and technology. The legislation also offered financial aid to students with disabilities who require private schooling because their local public institutions were deemed incapable of providing a suitable learning environment. California law prevents such funding from going to religious schools.
A similar case argued before the Supreme Court last June, Carson v. Makin, resulted in the overturning of a Maine law that excluded religious schools from a program that provided tuition help to students from rural areas attending private secular schools.
While the Becket Fund filed a friend-of-the-court brief in the case, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) insisted that the Supreme Court should oppose the move as part of the American tradition of separating church from state.
“Maine’s policy to avoid government-funded religious education is rooted in our nation’s historical commitment to the separation of church and state. Today’s decision, like others in recent years, undermines this vital protection by forcing taxpayers to support religious instruction and indoctrination. It is the opposite of true religious freedom and a betrayal of our country’s founding principles,” ACLU director Daniel Mach said in a statement at the time.
A recent poll conducted by the Becket Fund found that over 60 percent of Americans support the ability of parents to send children with disabilities to any private school of their choosing, regardless of religious instruction.