Board of Education of Kiryas Joel Village School District v. Grumet

The Satmar Hasidic community of Kiryas Joel, New York, mostly sent its children to private religious schools but had once arranged public special-education services for disabled children at an annex of a religious school — an arrangement the Supreme Court had already found unconstitutional in an earlier case. When the community's children then attended a regular public school instead, they reportedly suffered panic, fear, and trauma from the unfamiliar environment. In response, the New York legislature passed a law creating a separate public school district specifically for the village of Kiryas Joel. Grumet (plaintiff), an officer of a state school boards association, sued the resulting district (defendant), arguing the law violated the Establishment Clause. New York's highest court agreed, and the U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari.