Files briefs in cases involving Alabama’s new immigration law,
governmental legal representation, and IDEA disputes
Alexandria, Va. (November 30, 2011) – The National School Boards Association (NSBA) has filed amicus briefs in three federal cases that have important repercussions for school districts.
The cases — Hispanic Interest Coalition of Alabama v. Bentley, Filarsky v. Delia, and Peninsula School District v. D.P. — focus on Alabama’s new immigration law, the issue of qualified immunity for private attorneys, and the right to file lawsuits in special education disputes.
NSBA, along with the National Education Association and the Alabama Education Association, filed a joint brief in Hispanic Interest Coalition of Alabama v. Bentley. The case challenges Alabama’s harsh new immigration law, signed into law earlier this year, that requires school personnel to verify that newly enrolling students are in the country legally. If parents cannot provide proof of U.S. citizenship, the student will be designated as undocumented in annual reports school districts must provide to the state. The case will be heard by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.
“The mission of public schools is to educate all students in their communities regardless of their immigration status,” said Anne L. Bryant, NSBA's Executive Director. “Laws aimed at children exercising their right to a public education are bad public policy.”
NSBA’s General Counsel Francisco M. Negrón, Jr., added, “The Supreme Court's 1982 Plyler decision makes it clear that children have a constitutional right to a public education regardless of their immigration status. Measures that chill that right are patently unconstitutional, violating the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.”
In the second case, Filarsky v. Delia, NSBA, joined by the National Association of Counties, National Conference of State Legislatures, and International Municipal Lawyers Association filed a brief urging the high Court to retain the award of qualified immunity to counsel retained by a government agency. The case will be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court on January 17, 2012.
“A decision that holds private attorneys representing school districts are not entitled to qualified immunity in that representation could be a disincentive for lawyers to continue to offer counsel to school districts across the plethora of legal specialization areas facing schools today. The unintended consequence of such a ruling would be that school district could have difficulty retaining high quality, affordable legal counsel to represent them in their most challenging disputes,” said Negrón.
Additionally, NSBA has filed a brief asking the Supreme Court to review Peninsula School District v. D.P., stating that parents of students with disabilities should try to resolve disputes about educational issues through a hearing process established by IDEA before filing a lawsuit.
The case involves a parent’s attempts to challenge a school’s special education plan by filing a federal lawsuit claiming constitutional violations rather than utilizing the hearing process required by the federal Individual with Disabilities in Education Act (IDEA) to resolve her dispute. NSBA’s brief argues that parents should follow dispute resolution requirements outlined in IDEA before suing in federal court.
“Since IDEA’s passage, some parents have preferred to prematurely litigate cases involving students with disabilities instead of first following the IDEA requirements before going to court,” said Negrón. “School districts nationally have an interest in seeing that educational matters are resolved as early and as quickly as possible. This avoids costly and prolonged litigation that drains resources from the classroom and unnecessarily delays delivery of appropriate services to students with disabilities.”
NSBA Amicus Briefs:
Hispanic Interest Coalition of Alabama v. Bentley
http://www.nsba.org/SchoolLaw/AmicusBriefs/Hispanic-Interest-Coalition-of-Alabama-v-Bentley.pdf
Filarsky v. Delia
http://www.nsba.org/SchoolLaw/AmicusBriefs/Filarsky-v-Delia-US-Sup-Ct-Merits-Brief.pdf
Peninsula School District v. D.P.
http://www.nsba.org/SchoolLaw/AmicusBriefs/Peninsula-Sch-Dist-v-DP.pdf
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Founded in 1940, the National School Boards Association (NSBA) is a not-for-profit organization representing state associations of school boards and their more than 90,000 local school board members throughout the U.S. Working with and through our state associations, NSBA advocates for equity and excellence in public education through school board leadership. www.nsba.org