Court Dismisses Complaint That Charter School Undercut Familial Religious Fasting Practice

In Meadows v. Lesh, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 97631 (WD NY,Sept. 17, 2010), a parent sued a charter school for religious discrimination alleging that the school principal undercut the request by the mother of a  school child that the school respect their "familial religious practice" of fasting from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. by excusing the child from the cafeteria during lunch. Apparently the fasting was in observance of Lent. The pro se complaint claims that the school prevented the mother from picking the child up during lunch and that the principal isolated the child and presented her with food.  A New York federal magistrate judge dismissed the complaint with leave to refile, holding that it failed to allege that defendants were acting under color of state law and questioned whether charter schools are state actors. The court also concluded that "plaintiff's general reference to a 'familial religious practice', without an explanation of the role and importance of fasting to this religion, is insufficient to allege a sincerely held religious belief."