Maine may ban discrimination by religious schools that take state money

Maine did not violate the constitutional rights of U.S. religious schools by requiring them to comply with the state’s anti-discrimination law to receive taxpayer-funded tuition assistance, a federal judge has ruled. But the judge also acknowledged that a higher court will ultimately have the final say.

U.S. District Judge John Woodcock Jr. said he saw no constitutional violation in requiring religious schools to comply with the Maine Human Rights Act.

“Plaintiffs are free to practice their religion, including teaching their religion, as they see fit, but they cannot ask the state to subsidize their religious teachings if they conflict with state anti-discrimination law,” the judge wrote.

A notice of appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit in Boston was filed Friday, a day after Woodcock issued his 75-page decision denying the plaintiffs’ request for an injunction.

The lawsuit is one of two in Maine that centers on the collision between a 2022 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that Maine cannot discriminate against religious schools in awarding tuition assistance and a state law that requires schools that participate in the program tuition to respect Maine’s human rights. Act, which includes protections for LGBTQ students and faculty.

The Maine Human Rights Act was amended by state lawmakers in how it applies to schools before the Supreme Court decision. The law prohibits discrimination based on race, gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity or disability. This means that schools must not discriminate against gay and transgender teachers and students, which could conflict with the beliefs of some religious schools.

Adele Keim, senior counsel at Becket Law, which represents the plaintiffs, accused Maine lawmakers of using the anti-discrimination measure to “end the Supreme Court” with the specific goal of preventing religious schools from participating. She also said the law was applied unevenly because the state sent tuition dollars to a Massachusetts girls’ school.

The lawsuits were filed after the justices ruled 6-3 that Maine cannot discriminate between secular and religious schools when providing tuition assistance to children in rural communities that do not have a public high school. The program allows these students to attend another public or private school of their choice.

A spokesman for Attorney General Aaron Frey declined to comment Monday.

The suit was brought on behalf of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland; a Roman Catholic-affiliated school, St. Dominic Academy in Auburn, Maine; and parents who wish to use state tuition funds to send their children to St. Dominic. Another lawsuit, filed by parents who wanted to send a child to Crosspoint Church in Bangor, is already pending before the appeals court in Boston. Keim said she wouldn’t be surprised if the appeals court heard arguments in both cases at the same time.

The high court’s decision was hailed as a victory for school choice advocates — potentially reinvigorating efforts in some states to steer taxpayer dollars away from private, religious education.

But the impact in Maine was small. Since the ruling, only one religious school, Cheverus High School, a Jesuit college preparatory school in Portland, has participated in the state’s tuition reimbursement plan, a spokesman said.

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