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Senators Encourage SCOTUS to Overturn a Lower Court Decision with Religious Freedom & Parental Choice Implications
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) today joined U.S. Senator Tedd Budd (R-N.C.) in filing an amicus brief encouraging the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse a lower court decision that wrongly ruled that homeschool independent-study programs are public school programs.
The Senators’ amicus brief in Woolard v. Thurmond defends homeschooling parents’ rights by reinforcing a common-sense principle: parents are not state actors. It also makes clear that neutral government programs can support parents’ choice of faith-based curriculum while remaining consistent with the Constitution.
“This amicus brief argues that specifically restricting the rights of parents to use faith-based curriculum is unconstitutional, and I am hopeful that this argument will help the Supreme Court to determine that a California court decision should be overturned,” said Hyde-Smith, who chairs the Senate Pro-Life Caucus and this week also cosponsored a Religious Education Week resolution.
In defense of religious liberty and parental choice, the brief argues that a state that recognizes and funds homeschooling using parents’ chosen curricula should not be permitted to deny recognition or funding solely because parents choose faith-based educational materials.
The Senators’ brief said, “As part of California’s publicly funded independent-study programs, parents can teach their own children in their own homes with limited oversight from a private, nonprofit corporation operating a charter school. And subject to general state standards, parents can choose any curriculum they want for their homeschooling—with one exception: religion. That overt discrimination—which Respondents say is required by California’s Blaine Amendment—clearly violates the Constitution. And it is preposterous to say, as did the Ninth Circuit, that homeschooling parents are actually state actors.”
The Woolard v. Thurmond case concerns whether the State of California may exclude religious curricula from publicly funded, home-based education programs while allowing parents to use curricula of their choice.
U.S. Senators Jim Banks (R-Ind.), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Jim Justice (R-W.Va.), John Kennedy (R-La.), James Lankford (R-Okla.), Mike Lee (R-Utah), Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.), Jim Risch (R-Idaho), and Tim Sheehy (R-Mont.) also joined in filing the amicus brief.
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