Religious schools shun state funding despite Maine victory

Parents of children enrolled in Maine religious schools fought for years — all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court — for the state to treat tuition reimbursements the same as other private schools. But only one of the religious high schools that stood to benefit has signed up to participate this fall, after Maine’s attorney general warned that the schools would have to abide by state antidiscrimination laws, including those that protect LGBTQ students and faculty. That development has frustrated the families who sued. “Their hands are tied. The state said you can take the money, but we’ll tie your hands,” said David Carson, whose daughter was a sophomore at Bangor Christian Schools when his family and two other plaintiffs sued in 2018.

The Supreme Court ruled in June that Maine can’t exclude religious schools from a program that offers tuition for private education in rural towns where there are no public schools. Religious high schools with a known stake in the tuition fight include two Roman Catholic-affiliated schools, along with schools in Bangor, Waterville and Houlton. Last year, 29 private schools participated in the tuition reimbursement program, enrolling more than 4,500 students, officials said. Those schools that meet the state’s criteria can get about $12,000 per student in taxpayer funding. So far, only one religious school has signed up to participate, and that application will go through a review process, said Marcus Mrowka, a state education spokesperson. Mrowka declined to identify the school. The deadline for applications is Thursday. Michael Bindas is a senior attorney at the Virginia-based Institute for Justice, a nonprofit libertarian law firm that represented the families who sued. He said he’s not surprised the schools are slow to decide whether to participate, because of the questions raised by the attorney general.