Parents sue PA school district for excluding parochial students from extracurricular activities.

Parents​ File Lawsuit Against ​School​ District for Religious Discrimination

Parents of children enrolled at a parochial school in‍ Centre County, Pennsylvania, along ⁤with the ‍Religious ⁤Rights Foundation of⁢ Pennsylvania, a religious liberty nonprofit, filed a⁣ federal lawsuit ​against their local school⁤ district on July 10, 2023. Parents claimed the State College ‍Area ‌School District⁣ has discriminated against their children by denying ​them access to extracurricular​ activities due to their religious faith.

The district, which serves nearly 7,000 students and is located near Penn​ State University, provides⁣ numerous extracurricular activities for⁤ enrolled students, including athletics, “student government, ‌special interest and service clubs, dramatic performances, [and] literary publications.” Despite the district’s ⁢ obvious disdain for charter‍ schools and its ‍ onerous requirements for homeschool students, Pennsylvania law requires ⁣ school districts to make extracurricular activities available to charter school or homeschool ⁢students who reside within ‌them.

In defiance of the law, ​however, children within the ⁢district who attend the⁤ approximately 10 private religious schools ⁢in the area ⁤have been subjected to a “longstanding⁤ practice” of exclusion⁣ from extracurricular⁣ activities. ​The plaintiffs made multiple informal attempts to ensure their children could access extracurricular activities, but the district repeatedly denied them. Parochial school parents within the district ​created the Religious Rights Foundation to address this instance of religious discrimination, but its founders hope it can be a resource in future cases as well.

According to Thomas More Society Special⁤ Counsel Thomas ‍Breth, one of the attorneys representing the⁣ plaintiffs, the district’s longstanding practice means that, to his knowledge, students at religious schools within the district have never been allowed to participate in ​extracurricular activities.

This exclusion “goes way beyond athletics,” ⁣Breth said, and it ‌prevents students from parochial schools, which are smaller⁣ and ⁤have fewer extracurricular activities, from taking advantage⁤ of the numerous opportunities that the district proudly advertises on its website.

This policy is not limited‍ to⁤ the State College⁢ Area School District. The “vast majority” of school districts in⁣ Pennsylvania also deny participation by religious students, Breth said.

According to the district, the reasons for the parochial school students’ exclusion from extracurricular activities is simply a ⁤matter of resources. The district “…has ample, and ​sometimes excess, participation for teams, so there is no need to expand. Additionally,‌ if [the district] allow[s] private school students to take‍ part, [it] could be taking away opportunities from SCASD students.”

Despite ⁣the district’s purported lack of resources for extracurricular activities,‍ it still has time and money to focus on “equity and inclusion,” complete with an anti-racism resolution adopted in October 2020 and⁤ 10 “equity workgroups.”

Unfortunately for the district, ⁤its reasoning doesn’t pass muster. The free exercise clause​ of the First Amendment prevents the government from‍ “…denying a generally available benefit solely on account of religious identity.” In this case, ‍the ⁢plaintiffs ⁤argue that the opportunity to participate in extracurricular activities is a generally available‍ benefit ​to all students who reside within the district, and therefore must include charter school⁤ and ⁢homeschool students, too.

The Supreme Court has held ‍that this type of discrimination ⁣based on ⁤religion is subject to strict scrutiny, which means the district must prove it has a “compelling interest” in preventing parochial⁤ school students from participating, and that its​ unofficial policy of exclusion is “narrowly tailored” to further that compelling interest. “Excess participation” by district students‌ seems unlikely to be a compelling interest, especially since it’s ⁤likely that ​allowing parochial school students to​ participate would‍ only increase‌ numbers by a few hundred, not thousands of students.

The plaintiffs’ lawsuit, filed in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, ‍seeks a decision finding that the‍ district’s policy of exclusion violates the First Amendment and the equal protection clause of⁣ the 14th Amendment and ‌an order requiring the district to allow⁢ students from parochial‍ schools to participate in all extracurricular activities.

Now that‍ the lawsuit has‍ been filed and a judge assigned, the district has 60 days to respond. Breth expects the judge to order‌ a status conference between the ‌parties within the next few months.

For the plaintiffs, ‍it’s not soon enough. As Breth stated,⁢ “It’s important to emphasize [that the] plaintiffs pay taxes, they ​are residents, the only​ difference is they have enrolled in‍ a parochial school.‍ [There is] no ⁤justification ⁣for them to be‌ excluded, [all that the plaintiffs are] seeking [is] ⁣ for​ them​ to be treated equally. They should have the ‍same opportunities as any other student in the district.”