The Freedom From Religion Foundation is applauding a major federal appeals court ruling affirming that religious schools accepting taxpayer funding must comply with state civil rights laws.
In a pair of decisions issued recently by the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, the court largely upheld Maine’s requirement that private religious schools participating in the state’s publicly funded tuition assistance program must comply with the Maine Human Rights Act. The court rejected arguments by Saint Dominic Academy and Bangor Christian Schools that they have a First Amendment right to receive public funds while discriminating against students based on sexual orientation, gender identity or religion.
“This is exactly how government funding should work,” says FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor. “If a religious school wants to discriminate, it is free to do so with private money. But once it chooses to accept taxpayer dollars, it must play by the same rules as every other institution receiving public funds.”
The dispute arose after the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 decision in Carson v. Makin, which forced Maine to include religious schools in its tuition assistance program. Anticipating that outcome, Maine amended its Human Rights Act to make clear that schools receiving public funding could not discriminate against students on the basis of religion, sexual orientation or gender identity.
The religious schools argued that complying with those requirements would interfere with their religious mission, including admitting LGBTQ+ students and nonreligious students or those from other faiths.
The appeals court rejected those claims, holding that preventing discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity is a compelling governmental interest on par with preventing religious discrimination. The court ruled that while religious schools accepting public funds may require students to participate in religious services and abide by the school’s religious mission, they may not deny admission to otherwise qualified students because of their religion, sexual orientation or gender identity.
Importantly, the court noted that Maine law already contains exemptions allowing religious schools to hire employees who share and adhere to the schools’ religious beliefs, meaning the schools failed to show any present conflict between the law and their employment practices.
“This case illustrates the inevitable problems created when public money flows to religious schools,” says FFRF Legal Director Patrick Elliott. “Religious schools want the benefits of taxpayer funding without the responsibilities that come with it. Taxpayers should never be forced to subsidize discrimination.”
The appeals court did send one narrow issue back to the district court for further consideration involving a Maine regulation governing religious expression at publicly funded religious schools. The appeals court concluded that additional review is warranted regarding whether that particular rule improperly interferes with a school’s religious activities. However, the court left intact the core holding that schools accepting public funds must comply with the state’s nondiscrimination protections.
FFRF warns that the litigation is likely not over. Attorneys representing the schools have already indicated they are considering asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review the decision, and the high court is expected to hear a similar case from Colorado in its upcoming term.
While the case may not be over, FFRF is pleased that this ruling recognizes a fundamental American principle: That taxpayers should not be forced to finance exclusionary religious education.
The Freedom From Religion Foundation is a national nonprofit organization with about 41,000 members nationwide, including more than 200 members and a chapter in Maine. FFRF’s purposes are to defend the constitutional principle of separation between church and state, and to educate the public on matters relating to nontheism.
