When Congress passed the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act in 1975, it promised federal funding to ensure children with disabilities would receive appropriate education.

While federal and state law permits special education funding to follow students to private and charter schools when public schools can’t meet their needs, California specifically barred religious institutions from receiving these funds.

The battle for equal treatment for Jewish families with disabilities began in March 2013, when Becket Law filed a federal lawsuit challenging California’s discriminatory policy. A decade of legal fights followed until Monday, when a unanimous victory in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals was secured this week.

In an opinion authored by Judge Kim Wardlaw and joined by Judge Morgan Christen and Judge Mark Bennett, the court held that the “statute on its face burdens the free exercise rights of parents, and the nonsectarian requirement fails the neutrality test required by the Constitution.”

California has 90 days to appeal to the Supreme Court, but for Jewish families who’ve waited generations to access these services without compromising their faith, the ruling marks a historic breakthrough in their fight for equal treatment under the law.

“This is a massive win for Jewish families in California,” said Eric Rassbach, vice president and senior counsel at Becket. “It was always wrong to cut Jewish kids off from getting disability benefits solely because they want to follow their faith. The court did the right thing by ruling against California’s bald-faced discrimination.”