Zobrest v. Catalina Foothills School District

Background

James Zobrest is a student who has been deaf since birth. His parents enrolled him in Salpointe Catholic High School, a sectarian private school. They asked the local public school district to provide a state-employed sign-language interpreter at the school under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Local attorneys advised the district that providing an interpreter on campus would violate the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause, so the district refused. Lower courts agreed, but the Supreme Court reviewed the constitutional question.

Reasoning

The Court asked whether the Constitution forbids a school district from supplying an interpreter to a disabled child attending a religious school. The majority said no. It explained that the IDEA is a neutral program that gives services to disabled children wherever they enroll, and the interpreter is provided because of the parents’ private choice. Unlike past cases that involved direct aid to schools, the IDEA benefits the child, not the school, and no government funds go into the school’s coffers. The Court also noted interpreters ethically serve as neutral conduits who simply translate what is said.

Real world impact

The decision means public school districts may provide state-employed interpreters to deaf students at religious schools without violating this part of the Constitution. Disabled students who choose sectarian schools can receive IDEA services on site. The Court did not resolve separate statutory or regulatory questions about funding or whether the IDEA requires such placement; those issues were raised by dissenters and may still affect outcomes.

Dissents or concurrances

Justices Blackmun and O’Connor dissented, arguing the Court should have avoided the constitutional question and remanded to sort out statutory and regulatory issues; they warned an on-site public employee could aid religious instruction.