In Woolard v. Thurmond, (ED CA, June 10, 2024), a California federal district court rejected challenges by parents of children enrolled in home study programs through California public charter schools to the requirement that state funds be used only for secular instructional materials. Parents contended that refusing to fund faith-based curricular materials denied families equal access to state benefits solely because of their religious nature. The court disagreed, saying in part:
The state action of failing to provide requested religious curriculum is not an infringement on Plaintiffs’ freedom of exercise. As confirmed in Plaintiffs’ own cited case, Carson v. Makin, states are allowed to provide a strictly secular education in its public schools.... A strictly secular education does not substantially burden the Plaintiffs’ practice of religion....
This case involves California’s laws and regulations for state funded public schools, not private schools. There are no “public benefits” in the form of grants or otherwise that the state is excluding Plaintiffs from....
