Reverend Joseph E. Kurtz, D.D. Bishop | Archdiocese of Louisville

Catholic schools remain excluded from Maine’s tuition grant program, a federal judge ruled on August 8, though he noted that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit is expected to provide “a more authoritative ruling.”

In his 75-page order, U.S. District Judge John A. Woodcock Jr. stated that the case “poses novel constitutional issues and … the Court has attempted to frame its opinion as a prelude” to the appeals court ruling.

In June 2023, a Catholic family of five and a Catholic high school in the Diocese of Portland, Maine, filed a federal lawsuit against the head of the state’s Department of Education and members of its Human Rights Commission. They challenged the state’s exclusion of faith-based schools from a state tuition assistance program.

Despite a June 2022 ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court in Carson v. Makin declaring that excluding religious schools from such programs is unconstitutional, Maine officials continue to prevent faith-based schools and families from receiving state tuition assistance, according to the lawsuit.

The August 8 District Court ruling states: “Although the Court agrees that the plaintiffs have raised significant constitutional issues, the Court denies the motion primarily because it concludes that the plaintiffs are unlikely to succeed on the merits.”

Becket, a religious liberty law firm based in Washington D.C., filed the suit on behalf of Keith and Valori Radonis and St. Dominic Academy in rural Maine.

The complaint alleged “that certain provisions of the Maine Human Rights Act effectively exclude St. Dominic from participating in Maine’s school tuition program in violation of plaintiffs’ rights under Free Exercise, Free Speech, and Equal Protection clauses of U.S. Constitution.”

“As Catholic parents, we want to provide our children with an education that helps them grow in heart, mind, and spirit,” Keith and Valori Radonis said in a statement released by Becket. “All families should have this option using Maine’s tuition program.”

According to Becket, Catholic schools in Portland's Diocese had helped families provide their children with an education reflecting their beliefs through Maine's tuition assistance program until 1980 when officials announced all "sectarian" religious schools would be excluded.

St. Dominic Academy offers K-12 classes across campuses in Lewiston and Auburn; it is currently Maine's only Catholic high school operated by Portland's diocese.

Judge Woodcock acknowledged difficulties faced by affected families while mentioning an earlier challenge to state statutes known as Crosspoint Church v. Makin: “Both cases implicate fundamental tension arising when categories meriting protected status conflict with sincerely held beliefs."

“Maine officials are keeping religious families and schools out in cold,” Adèle Auxier Keim at Becket stated. "We will continue pushing back against transparent efforts evading Carson v Makin around Supreme Court."