ELC “Friend of the Court” Briefs at the U.S. Supreme Court in Key Student Civil Rights Cases

Education Law Center weighed in on two significant cases that will shortly be decided by the United States Supreme Court. Working with allies, ELC submitted amicus curiae (“friend of the court”) briefs urging the Court to uphold federal civil rights laws and preserve protections for vulnerable student populations.

Mahmoud v. Taylor

ELC and the National Education Association (NEA) submitted a brief in Mahmoud v. Taylor urging the Supreme Court to affirm the Fourth Circuit’s decision that Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) did not violate parents’ first amendment rights.

In 2022, MCPS in Maryland approved books containing LGBTQ+ themes for use as part of the language-arts curriculum. In 2023, parents from several religious backgrounds filed a federal lawsuit against MCPS alleging that the lack of notice or the ability to opt their elementary-school-aged children out of the curriculum violated their constitutional rights to the free exercise of religion.

The district court denied the parents’ request for an order requiring notice and opt-outs pending the outcome of the case. The parents appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, and the court found no evidence of direct or indirect coercion on families forcing them to act contrary to their religious views.

The ELC/NEA amicus brief argued that MCPS added these books to reflect the diversity of identities and experiences that exist in the district and broader society, and mere exposure to ideas in conflict with someone’s religious beliefs does not constitute a burden on the free exercise of religion under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The brief also explained that requiring schools to anticipate parental objections and implement notice and opt-out procedures would be unworkable, especially in MCPS, which is one of the largest and most diverse public school districts in the country.

“ELC stands by a public school district’s decision to honor and uphold the diversity in its schools by adopting an LGBTQ+ inclusive curriculum,” said Robert Kim, ELC Executive Director. “Public education must prepare students to thrive in a diverse society. Exposure to a variety of ideas is central to that mission.”

AJT v. Osseo

In AJT v. Osseo, ELC partnered with the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates (COPAA) and other legal disability advocacy organizations on an amicus brief with the goal of protecting students with disabilities from having to satisfy a uniquely stringent bad faith or gross misjudgment standard when seeking relief for discrimination related to their education.

A Minnesota school district refused to accommodate a student with a severe and rare form of epilepsy that causes frequent morning seizures by adjusting her instruction to include evening hours at home (as her prior state of residence did). When her family sued, the student’s award of compensatory hours of instruction under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) was affirmed by the Eighth Circuit Court, but the court denied compensatory damages for the full duration of her mistreatment because its prior caselaw had set a very high bar for disability discrimination by schools.

The U.S. Supreme Court will determine whether this student can pursue compensatory damages under civil rights laws – the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act – for the district’s refusal to provide her with a school day equal in length to that received by her peers.

“The Eighth Circuit’s caselaw requires an improperly high level of proof to obtain remedies for disability discrimination for school-aged children and imposes a much heavier burden on them,” said Elizabeth Athos, ELC Senior Attorney. “As our brief argues, unless this ruling is reversed, students with disabilities will find it nearly impossible to obtain compensation when they face discrimination in school.”

The Georgetown Law Appellate Immersion Clinic worked with COPAA on the brief. ELC previously partnered with COPAA before the U.S. Supreme Court in Perez v. Sturgis, in which the Court unanimously reversed a Sixth Circuit decision that foreclosed civil rights remedies for students with disabilities.

Related Story:

NATIONAL DISABILITY RIGHTS GROUPS APPLAUD SCOTUS DECISION IN PEREZ V. STURGIS

Press Contact:
Sharon Krengel
Director of Policy, Strategic Partnerships and Communications
skrengel@edlawcenter.org
973-624-1815, x240