Maine Religious Schools Slow to Accept State Money

Maine Religious Schools Slow to Accept State Money

Religious schools in the northeastern state of Maine have been slow to accept state money for students because of policies linked to the assistance.

The schools are able to receive the assistance because of a U.S. Supreme¹ Court decision handed down in June. The court ruled that Maine must include religious schools in a program that offers financial help to students in rural areas with no public schools.

Parents of students at religious schools brought the legal case against the state. They wanted the tuition assistance provided to other parents. The case reached the U.S. Supreme Court.

But so far, only one religious high school in Maine has signed up for the assistance program this fall.

Maine's attorney general has warned the schools that when accepting the financial assistance, they will have to obey current antidiscrimination laws. These include laws involving students and teachers who belong to the LGBTQ community. This development has troubled some families involved in the case.

David Carson had a daughter attending Bangor Christian² School when his family and others brought legal action in 2018. He told The Associated Press he now feels like his hands have been tied, meaning he feels what he can do is now limited. "The state said you can take the money, but we'll tie your hands," Carson said.

Religious high schools with a known interest in the tuition fight include two Roman Catholic-supported schools, along with schools in the towns of Bangor, Waterville and Houlton.

Last year, 29 private schools took part in the tuition assistance program, officials said. That effort involved more than 4,500 students. Schools that meet the state's requirements can get about $12,000 per student in taxpayer³ assistance.

Marcus Mrowka is a state education spokesperson. He confirmed that only one religious school had registered for the program so far. Mrowka said officials would need to examine the school's request before the assistance can be issued.

Michael Bindas is a lawyer with the Virginia-based Institute for Justice, a nonprofit law firm that represented the families in Maine. He told the AP he is not surprised that the schools have been slow to decide whether to take part in the program. He said this is because of the questions raised by the attorney general.

"Those open questions, however, will be resolved in time, and we certainly expect religious schools to participate," Bindas said.

Carroll Conley is the director of the Christian Civic⁴ League of Maine, and a former Christian school official. He said it is more likely that the effects will be felt more during the 2023-24 school year. "People want to see it happening, but schools are being cautious. It's a big change," Conley said.

Maine's Attorney General, Aaron Frey, has criticized the Supreme Court ruling. He said all schools accepting public financing, including religious schools, must obey the state's Human Rights Act. The act bans discrimination on the basis of race, sex, sexual orientation⁵, ethnicity or disability. That means the schools must accept gay and transgender teachers and pupils, Frey said.

Both Christian schools linked to the legal action – Temple Academy in Waterville and Bangor Christian School – have policies that discriminate⁷ against students and employees on the basis of sexual orientation or gender⁶ identity, Frey added.

Tom Brown is president of Bangor Christian School and leads a religious center linked to the school. He said in an emailed statement to the AP that his organization was currently "processing" the attorney general's statements. He confirmed that no students would be getting state tuition assistance this fall.

Words in This Story

tuition – n. money that is paid to a school for the right to study there

LGBTQ – n. lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer/questioning one's sexual or gender identity

participate – v. to take part in something

cautious – adj. taking care to avoid risks or danger

(sexual or gender) orientation – n. how someone thinks about their sex or sexuality

transgender – adj. relating to people who feel that their true nature is as a member of the opposite sex

1 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

2 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

3 taxpayer   

n.纳税人

参考例句：

• The new scheme will run off with a lot of the taxpayer's money.这项新计划将用去纳税人许多钱。
• The taxpayer are unfavourably disposed towards the recent tax increase.纳税者对最近的增加税收十分反感。

4 civic   

adj.城市的，都市的，市民的，公民的

参考例句：

• I feel it is my civic duty to vote.我认为投票选举是我作为公民的义务。
• The civic leaders helped to forward the project.市政府领导者协助促进工程的进展。

5 orientation   

n.方向，目标；熟悉，适应，情况介绍

参考例句：

• Children need some orientation when they go to school.小孩子上学时需要适应。
• The traveller found his orientation with the aid of a good map.旅行者借助一幅好地图得知自己的方向。

6 gender   

n.（生理上的）性，（名词、代词等的）性

参考例句：

• French differs from English in having gender for all nouns.法语不同于英语，所有的名词都有性。
• Women are sometimes denied opportunities solely because of their gender.妇女有时仅仅因为性别而无法获得种种机会。

7 discriminate   

v.区别，辨别，区分；有区别地对待

参考例句：

• You must learn to discriminate between facts and opinions.你必须学会把事实和看法区分出来。
• They can discriminate hundreds of colours.他们能分辨上百种颜色。