Alliance Defending Freedom
Local Alert
📅 Thursday, October 1, 2026 to Calendar
📄 View Official Agenda
We reviewed the upcoming agenda for Central Bucks SD and identified 2 items with potential legal exposure ahead of the vote.
MONITOR (LEVEL 6)
English Learner Screening Policy Without Parental Consent
📅 October 1, 2026
The district is presenting its updated Language Instruction Educational Program (LIEP) manual for English Learners. The manual, under Section 3, explicitly states that ‘Parent permission to identify students as ELs, including screening for English language proficiency, is NOT required,’ which implicates the fundamental right of parents to direct their children’s education. Although the policy allows parents to opt-out of services, it denies them the right to consent to the initial screening and identification.
Intake Action

Item 4.B presents the updated LIEP manual. Preserve the manual text, specifically the ‘Parent permission… is NOT required’ language in Section 3. Research Pennsylvania state law and federal requirements for EL screening to assess the viability of a parental consent challenge.

⚖️ Legal Hook: Parental Rights – 14th Am. Due Process
MONITOR (LEVEL 5)
Differential Treatment of Religious Holidays on Proposed Calendar
📅 October 1, 2026
The district is considering two 2027-2028 calendar options that provide days off for various religious holidays. However, the calendars create a hierarchy, designating some as full ‘District Holidays’ (Yom Kippur, Good Friday) while others are ‘Offices Open’ days (Diwali, Eid al-Adha), raising potential equal treatment concerns under the Establishment Clause.
Intake Action

Item 4.C presents two draft calendars for discussion. Preserve the calendar documents and monitor board discussion for the rationale behind designating some religious holidays as ‘District Holidays’ and others as ‘Offices Open’ days. This record could be useful for an equal treatment challenge.

⚖️ Legal Hook: First Amendment – Establishment Clause
District Leadership
Address 20 Welden Dr, Doylestown, PA 18901
“Contending in the courts of man, in reverence for the courts of God.”
Alliance Defending Freedom is the world’s largest legal organization committed to protecting religious freedom, free speech, the sanctity of life, parental rights, and God’s design for marriage and family.

Alliance Defending Freedom

Powered by Sentinel Engine