C.M., et al. v. Robert J. Bentley, M.D.

Litigation: Challenging constitutionality of Alabama’s “Education Scholarship Program,” a tax credit scholarship and “Parent-Taxpayer Refundable Credits,” a refundable individual tax credit program. Both programs were enacted in 2013 as part of the state legislature’s “Accountability Act of 2013.” Opposed to scholarship law: Southern Poverty Law Center. In support: Gov. Bentley, Superintendent of Education Bice, Commissioner of Revenue Magee, Comptroller White.

Outcomes: On April 8, 2014, a U.S. District Judge dismissed a lawsuit brought by the Southern Poverty Law Center challenging the Alabama Accountability Act on grounds the school choice program violated equal protection; notably, Plaintiffs did not allege disparate impact as they could not identify a protected class. Rather, Plaintiffs alleged unequal treatment of children whose families could not afford to pay for transportation to a different school and thus did not have the means to access educational choice scholarships. In oral arguments, Plaintiffs affirmed that this was a facial challenge to the law. The court dismissed the case for failing to state a claim upon which relief could be granted.

Why it Matters: The federal district court judge rendering the opinion said that the Plaintiff’s requested remedy was “mean-spirited.” By taking educational choice away from children whose families could afford transportation to a different school, “The equal treatment requested is, in effect, equally bad treatment.” The court and Plaintiffs acknowledged that there is no constitutional right of a child to receive an effective education; however, this case also implies that there is no constitutional right to compel children to remain in failing schools.

Effects: This case was designed to defeat Alabama’s first school choice program. However, by arguing that a program helping some but not all students is unconstitutional on its face due to unequal treatment, the Southern Poverty Law Center inadvertently presented support for school choice programs that apply universally to all children.