With the death of state Blaine Amendments this week, religious schools that welcome state money might find that they are now subject to regulation that may undermine their very reason for existence.
Harvard Law professor Mark Tushnet argues in an interview published in Harvard Law Today (1/21/2020) that if the Supreme Court requires funding to go to both religious and secular schools, voters might reject voucher programs altogether.
The United Methodist Church, via a regional conference, has sued for injunctive relief, alleging that Southern Methodist University (SMU) “covertly” modified its bylaws to eliminate church control over the 12,000-student Texas institution.
On December 17, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 that the ministerial exception does not bar a teacher in a Catholic school who was fired because she needed time off work for surgery and chemotherapy from pursuing a claim under the Americans with Disability Act.
Indiana is one of six states, including Alabama, Missouri, Florida, North Carolina, and Virginia that allow religious day care centers to operate without license or regular inspections. Religious groups in these states have fended off litigation by arguing that the separation of church and state concept prohibits the government from regulating such institutions.
The California Department of Education has found that a worksheet distributed by a public middle school teacher promoted a discriminatory bias against Muslims.
Supreme Court sends voucher cases back to the lower courts "for further consideration in light of Trinity Lutheran Church of Columbia, Inc., v. Comer."
If passed, SB 1146 is unconstitutional because the government is imposing a condition on religious institutions with the intent of pressuring them to compromise their religious beliefs.
“In America, it is against the law to fire an employee for expressing his religious beliefs—especially when that expression takes place at church. This kind of religious intolerance by an employer has no place in today’s workforce.”
— Andrew Coffman, Liberty Institute, Attorney for Eric Walsh