Judge says Maine can forbid discrimination by religious schools that take state tuition money

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Maine didn’t violate the U.S. constitutional rights of religious schools by requiring them to abide by the state’s antidiscrimination law to receive taxpayer-funded tuition assistance, a federal judge 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 sees no constitutional violation in requiring religious schools to abide by the Maine Human Rights Act.

“The plaintiffs are free to practice their religion, including the teaching of their religion as they see fit, but cannot require the state to subsidize their religious teachings if they conflict with state antidiscrimination law,” the judge wrote.

A notice of appeal to the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston was filed on Friday, a day after Woodcock issued his 75-page decision rejecting the plaintiffs’ request for an injunction.

The lawsuit is one of two in Maine that focus on the collision between a 2022 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that Maine cannot discrimination against religious schools in providing tuition assistance and a state law requiring that schools participating in the tuition program must abide by the Maine Human Rights Act, which includes protections for LGBTQ students and faculty.

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

Adele Keim, senior counsel for Becket Law, which is representing the plaintiffs, accused Maine lawmakers of using the antidiscrimination measure to “make an end run around the Supreme Court” with the specific aim of preventing the participation of religious schools. She also said the law is applied unevenly because the state has sent tuition dollars to an all-girls school in Massachusetts.

The lawsuits were filed after the justices ruled 6-3 that Maine cannot discriminate between secular and religious schools when providing tuition assistance to kids in rural communities that don’t have a public high school. The program allows those students to attend another school, public or private, of their choosing.

A spokesperson for Attorney General Aaron Frey declined comment on Monday.

The lawsuit was brought on behalf of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland; a Roman Catholic-affiliated school, St. Dominic’s Academy in Auburn, Maine; and parents who want to use state tuition funds to send their children to St. Dominic’s. Another lawsuit, brought 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 hears arguments from both cases at the same time.

The high court’s decision was hailed as a victory for school choice proponents — potentially giving life to efforts in some of the states that have not directed taxpayer money to private, religious education.

But the impact in Maine has been 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 spokesperson said.