Two Massachusetts families have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to decide whether the state can deny certain special education services to children whose parents choose private school. The families, represented by the Institute for Justice and the Pioneer New England Legal Foundation, argue that the regulation forces families to choose between educational choice and access to special support.

Background

The case centers on a Massachusetts regulation governing where special education services are provided to students whose parents enroll them in private schools. Massachusetts law guarantees special education services for eligible children regardless of whether they attend public or private school. However, state regulations require students attending private schools by parental choice to receive those publicly funded services at a neutral location rather than on their private school campuses.

The families argue that the regulation forces parents to choose between exercising their constitutional right to direct their children’s education by selecting a private school and accessing special education services guaranteed under state law. They point to longstanding Supreme Court precedent and Mirabelli v. Bonta, a recent parental rights case involving school gender notification policies.

Constitutional Questions

In an exclusive interview with The Center Square, Institute for Justice educational choice attorney David Hodges said the lawsuit raises constitutional questions under the Due Process, Equal Protection, and Privileges or Immunities Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment. Hodges stated that the petition also asks the Supreme Court to resolve what he described as a split among lower courts over whether the unconstitutional conditions doctrine applies to parental rights.

The unconstitutional conditions doctrine is a legal rule that states a person or group cannot be forced to give up a constitutional right for the sake of public benefit. Hodges argued that requiring services to be provided away from the student’s school limits their usefulness, as those services need to be provided at the point of learning.

Original reporting: KTBS 3 (Shreveport) — read the source article.