Steve B. Smith v. Jefferson Cnty. Bd. of School Comm'rs, 788 F.3d 580

Jefferson County, Tennessee faced a budget shortfall and abolished its own alternative school.
The district contracted Kingswood School, Inc., a private Christian school, to provide the alternative-school program for several years.
Two former Kingswood employees, Kucera and Forgety, asserted Establishment Clause claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and sought damages and an injunction.
Kingswood conducted day and residential programs; the day program was secular, while the residential program included religious elements.
Over seven years, the Board paid Kingswood $1,702,368; Kingswood operated the program and maintained a Christian identity, with limited religious content in the day program.
The district court found an Establishment Clause violation and entered injunctive relief and damages, which the Sixth Circuit reversed.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Was there an Establishment Clause violation under Lemon/Lynch endorsement?	Kucera/Forgety contended endorsement of religion through Kingswood relationship.	Board argued secular budgetary purpose and no government endorsement.	No Establishment Clause violation
Did the Kingswood relationship convey an objective message of religious endorsement?	Endorsement by government due to affiliation with a religious institution.	Context and numbers show no endorsement; benefits all students.	No endorsement detected
Did the arrangement create excessive government entanglement with religion?	Contracting with a religious entity risks ongoing supervision and control.	No government control or extensive monitoring beyond a secular contract.	No excessive entanglement
Are damages or attorney’s fees recoverable for Establishment Clause claims here?	Damages and fees should be available under federal and state law.	Establishment Clause relief is equitable; damages/fees unavailable.	Damages and attorney’s fees are not recoverable; injunction vacated

Lemon v. Kurtzman, 403 U.S. 602 (1971) (three-prong Lemon test for Establishment Clause)
Lynch v. Donnelly, 465 U.S. 668 (1984) (endorsement refinement guiding historical/contextual analysis)
Marsh v. Chambers, 463 U.S. 783 (1983) (historical approach to legislative-prayer practices)
Town of Greece v. Galloway, 134 S. Ct. 1811 (2014) (historic-practices and coercion framework; coercion-prong emphasized)
Allegheny County v. ACLU, 492 U.S. 573 (1989) (endorsement test as the controlling framework in some contexts)
Edwards v. Aguillard, 482 U.S. 578 (1987) (historical approach not useful in public-school context (footnote 4))
Lee v. Weisman, 505 U.S. 577 (1992) (coercion principle in prayer contexts)
Santa Fe Independent School Dist. v. Doe, 530 U.S. 290 (2000) (coercion/endorsement considerations in student-initiated prayer)
Elmbrook School District v. Doe, 687 F.3d 840 (2012) (comparable considerations in school ceremonies and religious ambience)