Professor Michael Helfand, "A Judge Just Upheld Religious Liberty in New York" -- City Journal

Professor Michael A. Helfand's opinion article, "A Judge Just Upheld Religious Liberty in New York," is published in the City Journal. The article, co-authored with Nicole Garnett and Sydney Altfield, considers the ruling in Board of Education v. E.L., which confirms that the right to education contains no faith-based exception.

Excerpt from "A Judge Just Upheld Religious Liberty in New York"

For years, states and school districts have discriminated against religious families who turn to faith-based schools to meet their children’s special education needs. The Supreme Court has made abundantly clear that the First Amendment prohibits the government from discriminating against religious believers, institutions, or conduct when it creates programs that enlist private organizations to advance public goals. But families are still forced into costly litigation just to secure what federal law already guarantees them: a free and appropriate public education.

Last week, one of those families triumphed in court. In Board of Education v. E.L., Manhattan federal judge Jessica Clarke, a Joe Biden appointee, rejected New York City’s attempt to deny reimbursement for the religious studies portion of a child’s tuition at a faith-based special-needs school. Judge Clarke explained that the Supreme Court’s recent cases make clear that it is unconstitutional to “prohibit all funding for all religious instruction.”

The complete article may be found at City Journal