An interesting Lawsuit

A lawsuit has been filed in Washington state that brings up an interesting issue. You can read about it here. In this case you have parents that have filed suit saying the school district is discriminating against religion. There are children with special needs that attend public, private, and religious schools in the district. All are entitled to special educational services according to federal law. In this case, services are delivered to the students at the public and private schools however, students at religious schools are required to go to public school settings in order to receive services. The distinction is not being made between public and private, it is being made between religious and non-religious.

This brings up an interesting discussion, where do you draw the line on public support for children with special needs? A child who is attends a religious school should be able to receive the special services that they deserve. Public money should not go to support private schools (or at the very least that is a different debate), however it is very interesting to me to see the distinction in this case between secular private schools and religious private schools. I will be anxious to see the results of the case.