This case could have implications outside of Lower Merion Schools, since the lawsuit claims the District is violating the Due Process Clause in the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution by restricting their rights to decisions regarding their children’s health and privacy.
The lawsuit cites multiple U.S. Supreme Court cases regarding this clause and children’s education. In Meyer v. Nebraska (1923), the Court struck down a Nebraska law prohibiting schools from teaching world languages. Two years later, the Court struck down an Oregon statute requiring all children to attend public schools in its Pierce v. Society of Sisters ruling.
Andrew Liddell, an attorney working with the plaintiffs, says the parents are effectively seeking an updated application of those rulings for new technology.
“This is not about curriculum,” Liddell said. “This is about kids being given free access to the internet, where they can go anywhere and do anything and talk to anyone at any time.”
A District spokesperson emailed Patch the following statement: