Haddad v. School Committee of Worcester

• Decision Date: 20 July 1978
• Citation: Haddad v. School Committee of Worcester, 379 N.E.2d 586, 376 Mass. 51 (Mass. 1978)
• Parties: James G. HADDAD 1 v. SCHOOL COMMITTEE OF WORCESTER.
• Court: Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts

Page 586

379 N.E.2d 586

376 Mass. 51

James G. HADDAD¹ v.SCHOOL COMMITTEE OF WORCESTER.

Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts, Worcester.

Argued Jan. 5, 1978.

Decided July 20, 1978.

Joseph F. Sawyer, Jr., Worcester, for plaintiff.

William F. Scannell, Asst. City Sol., for School Committee of Worcester, submitted a brief.

Before HENNESSEY, C. J., and QUIRICO, BRAUCHER, KAPLAN, WILKINS, LIACOS and ABRAMS, JJ.

KAPLAN, Justice.

A statement of agreed facts shows: The plaintiff, suing on his own behalf and for others similarly situated, was a resident of the city of Worcester and a pupil in a private secondary school located in the adjacent town of Shrewsbury, a school approved by the Shrewsbury school committee under G. L. c. 76, § 1.Pursuant to the second paragraph of G. L. c. 71, § 48, the plaintiff requested of the defendant school committee of Worcester the free loan of textbooks for the 1974-1975 school year.This request was refused, although the school committee had made certain loans of textbooks to pupils in private schools located in Worcester.The committee justified its refusal, first, on the basis of the unconstitutionality of the statute under art. 46 of the Amendments to the Constitution of the Commonwealth, and, second, on the ground that it was not obliged to furnish books for use in a school outside the city.

A judge of the Superior Court, holding for the plaintiff and the class he represented (stated to consist of 400 students residing in Worcester but attending the same Shrewsbury school), entered a judgment, in accordance with the prayers of the complaint, which ordered the defendant school committee henceforth to furnish textbooks under the statute.In his memorandum the judge...