by Jorge Gomez • 2 minutes
Maine keeps trying to exclude our client, Bangor Christian School (BCS), and other religious schools from participating in the state tuition program, despite our U.S. Supreme Court victory in Carson v. Makin that held states cannot discriminate against parents who want to send their children to religious schools under government student-aid programs.
This week, First Liberty and volunteer attorneys at Consovoy McCarthy asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit to reverse a lower court decision that upheld a discriminatory state law. Maine passed this law to prevent faith-based schools from participating in the state’s school choice program due to their religious beliefs. We filed the lawsuit on behalf of Crosspoint Church, which operates Bangor Christian School.
Maine’s tuition program is the second oldest school-choice program in the nation. It allows parents who live in school districts that do not operate a high school to send their children to the public or private school of their choice. But from 1980 until the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision in Carson v. Makin, parents could not use their tuition benefit at a religious school.
In anticipation of their loss at the Supreme Court, the Maine Legislature passed another bill to require BCS to violate its sincerely held religious beliefs in order to participate. This “poison pill” imposes requirements that will prohibit BCS from teaching from its religious perspective or considering an admissions applicants’ alignment with the school’s statement of faith and religious educational mission.
In February, a federal district court ruled against our clients. We’d asked the district court to issue a preliminary injunction that would stop the state from enforcing the restrictions while the case is pending. But the court denied that request.
Although that was a setback, the case wasn’t over. The district court’s decision paved the way to take the case to a higher level. It also emphasized that our lawsuit raises important legal questions. Importantly, even though Maine argued that our lawsuit was premature, and that BCS should have to face penalties under the law first before filing in federal court, the district court disagreed. The judge recognized that the threat of significant penalties and the forced decision between the school’s religious beliefs and participation in the school choice program are a sufficient injury to let our case move forward.
“Families should be free to choose the educational option that works best for them without the State’s unconstitutional interference,” said First Liberty attorney Jeremy Dys. “Maine excluded religious schools from its school choice program for over 40 years, but the U.S. Supreme Court made it clear that such religious discrimination must end.”
Our Supreme Court victory was crucial. But our work is not finished. Although it lost at the nation’s highest court, Maine is still not getting the message that religious discrimination is illegal. Maine officials have repeatedly shown hostility and anti-religious bias ever since the Supreme Court ruled favorably for our clients.
First Liberty will keep fighting Maine’s unconstitutional law so that BCS and all faith-based schools can equally participate in the state program. The Constitution and legal precedent are clear: religious schools should be treated the same as everyone else.
Bangor Christian School is counting on your support. Please donate to First Liberty today. With your support, we can continue restoring religious freedom for families and our nation’s schools.
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