There’s probably nothing lower than trying to hurt a disabled child. But that’s exactly what a Stamford, Connecticut school did when they expelled Brandon Bonner’s four-year-old autistic daughter from school, refusing to provide her with vital services and programming for her disabilities simply because the Bonners have a religious objection to vaccinations required by state law for school attendance.
And to make matters worse, the school threatened to report the Bonners to the state Department of Children and Families for “educational neglect,” despite knowing full well that school officials – not the Bonners – were the cause of the little girl’s loss of education and services!
This is eerily reminiscent of the case we are litigating in California, where a high school honors student was expelled because of his family’s religious objection to vaccinations, and soon after the school reported the family to the county prosecutor for truancy charges. There is a dangerous pattern emerging in America of schools kicking kids out of school for their religious beliefs, and then adding insult to injury by trying to initiate legal action against the parents.
What the Stamford Board of Education has done violates not only the U.S. Constitution, but also federal law that requires public schools to provide education and services to children with disabilities. Last year we filed a federal lawsuit in defense of the Bonners and their daughter, and the state recently filed a motion to dismiss the case. Yesterday we filed our opposition to that motion to dismiss, which you can read here.
We are only able to continue fighting for the Bonners because of your support. In less than one month, our nation will celebrate its 250th birthday, and on the same day, our Mission 250 Fundraiser will conclude. We are trying to raise $250,000 by July 4, 2026 so that we can continue to advance our mission of defending religious liberty, health freedom, parental rights and more in courtrooms all across the country. By making a gift to our Mission 250 Campaign today, you are taking an active role in standing up for the Bonners and other parents like them in court.