Should parochial school students be able to participate in SCASD activities? Lawsuit filed

A religious rights advocacy group has filed a federal lawsuit against the State College Area School District and its board of directors, alleging the district discriminated against students at parochial schools.

The lawsuit, which was filed July 10 by Dillon McCandless King Coulter & Graham LLP on behalf of the Religious Rights Foundation of PA, claims the district discriminated against two students at a parochial school after declining to let them participate in SCASD extracurricular activities. Among the plaintiffs listed in the lawsuit are two students and their parents, who are identified in the lawsuit by initials only. The parents are taxpayers who live within the district and the students attend private religious schools.

Thomas Breth, a lawyer for Dillon McCandless King Coulter & Graham LLP, declined Friday to name the parochial schools the students attend or the specific extracurricular activities the students sought to join.

The 24-page lawsuit claims the plaintiffs are being discriminated against for their religious identity and alleges the district is forcing them to choose between their religious beliefs and participation in SCASD activities.

The district declined to comment on the lawsuit as per its policy on pending litigation.

According to the lawsuit, the plaintiffs reached out to the district earlier this year to request to participate in extracurricular and co-curricular activities at SCASD. The district denied the request, writing in a May email that the district has high levels of participation in its sports teams, and that including private school students could take opportunities away from SCASD students.

Breth said the students have been petitioning the district for years to allow participation in extracurricular activities.

The Religious Rights Foundation of PA is a State College based nonprofit established to “protect, defend, and promote the religious rights, beliefs, opportunities, and tenets of faith” of its members, according to its website. The foundation is supported by the Thomas More Society, a conservative Catholic law firm known for its lawsuits against same-sex marriage and abortion.

The lawsuit notes that charter school students and home school students who live within the district boundaries are allowed to participate in SCASD extracurricular activities and programs but students at religious private institutions are not.

“By attending parochial schools, Student Plaintiffs do not have the opportunity to participate in the types of extracurricular and co-curricular activities generally available to the students of the State College Area School District, home school students, and charter school students,” the lawsuit states.

Breth told the CDT that the lawsuit asks the court to grant the students and any other students at private religious institutions the right to participate in extracurricular activities, instructional activities and classes at SCASD. The lawsuit also requests the court to find the district in violation of the plaintiff’s rights and rule the district’s policy discriminatory.

“They’re asking for equal treatment,” Breth said. “So they’re permitting home school students that aren’t enrolled in the State College School District to participate in educational activities, co-curricular activities. ... The plaintiffs are being asked to be treated in the same manner.”