A coalition of Republican-led states is urging the Supreme Court to hear a case that could reshape the relationship between school choice, parental rights and special education services nationwide. In a friend-of-the-court brief filed in support of two Massachusetts families, attorneys general from 14 states argued that governments cannot pressure parents to abandon private education by making it harder for their children to access educational benefits. The states say Massachusetts is effectively using special education services as leverage to push families back toward public schools.
The states argued that states don't need to create or fund an educational benefit, but if they do, they can't impose restrictions that force parents to choose between the benefit and school choice. "For opponents of school choice, that is the point—to leverage taxpayer dollars to coerce families into public schools by making private education the only setting in which benefits are forfeited," the states wrote. Newsweek reached out to the Massachusetts attorney general's office for comment via email but did not receive a response in time for publication.
Special education services affect millions of families nationwide. More than 7 million public-school students receive services such as speech therapy, occupational therapy, behavioral support and specialized instruction, while nearly two-thirds of U.S. private schools enroll at least some students with disabilities. The Supreme Court case could determine whether states that fund those services for private-school students must allow them to be provided on private-school campuses rather than requiring families to travel to public or neutral locations.
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, arises from a dispute over whether children who attend private schools may receive state-funded special education services on their school campuses. The families challenging the policy say Massachusetts is forcing them to choose between exercising their constitutional right to send their children to private school and obtaining services their children need. The case centers on two families, Ariella and David Hellman and Josh Harrison and Miriam Segura-Harrison, whose children have disabilities and attend Jewish day schools.
Under Massachusetts law, children with disabilities are entitled to special education services, including academic support, counseling and therapy. Unlike federal law, Massachusetts extends those rights to children attending private schools as well as public schools. David Hodges, an attorney for the plaintiffs, told Newsweek they're confident in the merits of their case and believe the Supreme Court will give "the petition a close look." "This case presents an important and recurring issue for the Court: whether the government may deny a benefit to a child simply because of how her parents directed her education," Hodges said.
The controversy stems from what the petition calls the state's "Place Restriction." Under that policy, children whose parents choose private schools cannot receive state-funded special education services inside their schools. Instead, they must leave campus and travel to a public or "neutral" location to receive services. The families argue that this arrangement imposes significant burdens.
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