A federal lawsuit filed in St. 不良研究所导航网址 recently seeks an answer to a vexing question for people of faith.
If a Catholic school takes federal money from taxpayers, does it have to follow the guidelines set out in federal law?
The question takes on added importance in the wake of two recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions that seem to cloud the constitutional . One of those decisions required states to allow religious schools to receive taxpayer-funded grants if the same grants are available to private, non-religious schools. The second decision supported an active right to public prayer in public schools.
Neither of those decisions likely will have a direct bearing on the case titled 鈥淔.B. et al vs. the Archdiocese of St. 不良研究所导航网址.鈥 But interplay between church and state 鈥 specifically the idea of whether federal regulation follows federal money 鈥 is the underlying issue in the case.
People are also reading…
It involves a Washington, Missouri, family whose children were kicked out of Our Lady of Lourdes School in 2018. One of the couple鈥檚 daughters was diagnosed with learning disabilities when she was 10. Working with a psychologist and various special education experts in 2016, the family developed a plan to improve their daughter鈥檚 ability to function in school. Here鈥檚 how the lawsuit characterizes it:
鈥淭he Parents provided the evaluation to Lourdes, and in a meeting with the Principal and a special education teacher, Lourdes accepted the evaluation and agreed to provide services and accommodations to (the student). Lourdes provides such services and accommodations to students with disabilities through a Learning Plan.鈥
All was well. The daughter鈥檚 grades improved. Then, a year later, the school changed principals. The new principal, according to the lawsuit filed by attorney Ken Chackes, decided to stop following the special plan for the girl鈥檚 education. Her grades suffered. The parents complained, and, according to the lawsuit, ended up in conflict with both the principal and the church pastor, the Rev. James Theby, including an allegation that the student鈥檚 father threatened to assault the principal.
Eventually, the lawsuit contends, Theby informed the family their children were no longer welcome at Lourdes. The lawsuit alleges that the refusal to follow the daughter鈥檚 learning plan was a violation of . The law protects people from discrimination based on their disability.
鈥淎s a private educational entity that offers special educational services, the Archdiocese and Lourdes are required to comply with certain requirements of Section 504 in addition to the requirement to provide reasonable accommodations,鈥 the lawsuit contends.
In court documents, attorneys for the archdiocese deny that the school has received federal money or that the provision cited by Chackes applies to the school or the church. They also argue that the claims made in the lawsuit are barred by the federal and state Religious Freedom Restoration Act because enforcing them would 鈥渋mpinge upon the church鈥檚 autonomy.鈥
鈥淭he plaintiffs in this lawsuit were not discriminated against,鈥 said Gerard Carmody, the attorney representing the archdiocese and the school. 鈥淭he actions taken relative to them were a product of the threatening behavior of the children鈥檚 father. That conduct included threats of physical assault against the school鈥檚 principal.鈥
After the younger children were kicked out of Lourdes, the family from Washington home-schooled them for the rest of the year. The family filed a lawsuit, the girl鈥檚 mother said in an emailed statement, because 鈥淚 was not going to let these people do this to my girls, or to anyone else鈥檚 kids, ever again.鈥
The question for the courts is whether the federal law that requires accommodations for students with disabilities applies to private, religious schools. If they receive federal money, there鈥檚 no question the law applies to them, Chackes says.
鈥淚t also requires schools to provide procedures for parents to voice their concerns and forbids retaliation against parents who advocate for their children鈥檚 rights,鈥 Chackes said. 鈥淲hile most educators and some parents know about Section 504, many do not realize that it applies to religious and other private schools because they get federally funded low-cost meals and participate in other similar programs.鈥
Be careful what you wish for, the lawsuit seems to suggest. If federal money flows to religious schools, then the long arm of federal regulation will not be far behind.