What to Watch This Year — Supreme Court Edition

St. Mary’s Parish v. Roy — The first education related case to be heard by the Supreme Court this year is St. Mary’s Parish v. Roy. This case will be heard by the Justices on November 3rd. This case comes from Colorado. The plaintiffs, two Catholic parishes and their associated preschools, receive public funding for the preschool program. In exchange for this funding, the state required a nondiscrimination agreement be in place that would require that they enroll students in their schools regardless of the sexual orientation or gender identify of their parents. The plaintiffs have filed suit, claiming that this nondiscrimination agreement violates their first amendment rights.

Thomas Crowther v. Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia — This case stems from two University of Georgia employees who filed complaints against the University, claiming they were discriminated against on the basis of sex when they were fired. One employee, a women’s basketball coach, was fired after filing a complaint that the University had been discriminating against her program by not providing them the same resources as they had the men’s program. The second employee, an art professor, had their contract nonrenewed after a Title IX investigation was triggered based on several complaints of inappropriate conduct, including sexual harassment. The issue in this case is whether employees who work for schools and colleges receiving federal funding can sue their employer for sex discrimination under Title IX, considering the fact that Title VII prohibits sex-based discrimination in employment settings. This case will be heard by the Court at the end of November.

Several notable cases that impact education have already been heard by the Court and are waiting on decisions. They include the following:

Nathan v. Alamo Heights Independent School District; Cribbs Ringer v. Comal Independent School District – In these joint cases, the justices were asked to consider whether recent laws being passed that required the display of the Ten Commandments in schools are constitutional.

Hellman v. Craven — In this case, two Massachusetts families challenged a state regulation that allows private school children to have access to public school special education services as long as it occurred at a public school or a “neutral location”. The families’ children attended Jewish day schools, and they argued the policy penalized public school students as they have a constitutional right to attend private schools but also access publicly funded special education services.

We will keep you updated with any big changes. As always, please feel free to reach out if you have any questions or concerns!