Plans, Inc. v. Sacramento City Unified School District Twin Ridges Elementary School District

Good Law

2003 Daily Journal DAR 1584·319 F.3d 504·2003 WL 262174·2003 Cal. Daily Op. Serv. 1232·2003 U.S. App. LEXIS 2190

United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth CircuitFebruary 10, 200301-16437California1,989 words

Opinion

Wardlaw, J.

The People for Legal and Non Sectarian Schools (“PLANS”) sued the Sacramento City and Twin Ridges Elementary school districts for sponsoring and supporting Waldorf schools with public funds. PLANS appeals the district court’s judgment and order denying it taxpayer standing. Because PLANS does not challenge a specific program or activity, but rather the Waldorf school curriculum as a whole, and because the schools are supported by a measurable amount of public funds, we find that PLANS enjoys taxpayer standing to proceed. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291 and reverse.

I. Background

PLANS is a non-profit California corporation whose members include taxpayers residing in both the Sacramento City Unified School District (“SCUSD”) and the Twin Ridges Elementary School District (“TRESD”). One of PLANS’s objectives is to educate the public about the nature of the education provided by Waldorf schools.

Austrian-born Rudolf Steiner developed the Waldorf system of education in 1919 when he founded a school in Germany for the children of the Waldorf-Astoria cigarette factory workers. Waldorf education involves alternative teaching methods, including the…

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