The 2026 Diane and Stephen Uhl memorial essay competition for law students is now closed.
The 2027 essay competition will be announced in November 2026.
Thank you for your interest in our student essay competitions!
First place: Sam Foer, Washington & Lee University School of Law, $4,000
The collapse of a constitutional boundary
by Sam Foer
Introduction
In 1972, in Wisconsin v. Yoder, the Supreme Court carved out a narrow but profound exception to compulsory education laws. Amish parents could withdraw their children from public high school not because they objected to a lesson or two, but because the state’s entire educational project threatened to dissolve their religious community’s way of life. Fast forward to 2025. In Mahmoud v. Taylor, the Supreme Court faced a very different kind of question: Do religious parents have a Free Exercise right to opt their children out of specific lessons depicting LGBTQ+ families? The court granted the opt-outs.
Read more of Sam’s essay in Freethought Today
Second place: Zoe Schacht, Brooklyn Law School, $3,000
Preferential ‘veto’ power
by Zoe Schacht
In the public school setting, the principle of “parental rights” has evolved from being a quasi-no-exemption rule to a preferentially treated “veto power.” This expanded understanding of the parental right to object to public school curricular or educational requirements on religious grounds creates potential tension with other constitutional or societal interests, such as the assertion of parental rights in nontraditional and progressive settings, the right to free exercise by non-conservative religious believers, and LGBTQ+ rights, generally. In future cases, the United States Supreme Court is unlikely to have a universal approach in navigating these competing interests. While it is unlikely to do so, the court should give this new “veto power” a leg to stand on and protect the parental right to raise children with the “beliefs and practices [they] wish to instill,” even when those beliefs and practices diverge from traditional, conservative values.
Read more of Zoe’s essay in Freethought Today
Third place: Ashni Verma, New York University School of Law, $2,000
The battle for curricular control
by Ashni Verma
Introduction
On June 27, 2025, the Supreme Court decided Mahmoud v. Taylor, granting parents in a Maryland school district the right to excuse their children from lessons that engage with storybooks about the LGBTQ+ community. This essay explores the development of hybrid parental rights claims and identifies strategies for schools to maintain their commitment to multicultural, inclusive curricula in the wake of Mahmoud.
Read more of Ashni’s essay in Freethought Today
Honorable mentions:
Wesley Michael Harris, Florida A&M College of Law, $500
Maya Gardner, University of South Carolina, Joseph F. Rice School of Law, $500
The Press Release for this contest may be found here.
All eligible entrants of any student essay competition receive a digital year-long student membership in FFRF.
FFRF appreciates its members who make the effort to contact local high schools, colleges and universities to help publicize its competitions.
FFRF has offered essay competitions to college students since 1979, high school students since 1994, grad students since 2010 and one dedicated to students of color since 2016. A fifth contest, open to law students, began in 2019.
“FFRF is happy to see another generation of freethinkers raising their voices in protest against the continuing threat of Christian nationalism,” says FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor. “The next generation promises to have the greatest population of freethinkers yet, and FFRF is proud to lend its support to keep student advocacy alive and thriving.”
The Freedom From Religion Foundation is a U.S.-based nonprofit dedicated to promoting the constitutional principle of separation between state and church and educating the public on matters of nontheism. With nearly 42,000 members, FFRF advocates for freethinkers’ rights across the globe.
