March 28, 2024
BANGOR DAILY NEWS (BANGOR, MAINE

Judge throws out sports access suit> Nonstudent wants to join public school teams

KENNEBUNK — A judge Monday dismissed a lawsuit filed on behalf of a Kennebunk girl who attends a parochial school but wants to play on a public school sports team.

Justice Robert Crowley ruled that children like Jane LeBlanc who attend private schools do not have a right to a public education.

“Jane does not have a constitutional right to a public education, much less a right to participate in public school extracurricular activities,” Crowley wrote in his ruling.

LeBlanc, 13, is a student at Kennebunk Christian Academy, which has no sports programs.

Her father, Michael LeBlanc, sued after SAD 71 rejected his request that she be allowed to play soccer and run track at Kennebunk Middle School.

His lawsuit contended that by denying his daughter access to the teams, school administrators were violating Jane LeBlanc’s rights to “the benefits of a free public education.”

LeBlanc also contended public schools should be accessible for all students, whether they are educated in public or private schools or at home. Home-schooled students by law have access to public schools and their resources.

He did not immediately return a message left at his home Monday.

The school board applied its current policy, which does not allow private school students who live in the district to participate in interscholastic sports sponsored by the public school.

It argued that public education should be viewed as an entire program, not separate activities. It also expressed concerns that private school students could bump public school students off team rosters.

Crowley’s decision to dismiss the case came three weeks after Crowley heard oral arguments in the case. The original motion to dismiss was filed by the school district in May.

He wrote that even if state law provided an individual with a fundamental right to a public education, athletic programs would not be an integral part of that right.


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