Federal Judge Rules Tennessee Ban on Religious Charter Schools Unconstitutional

A U.S. District Court judge has ruled that Tennessee’s prohibition on religiously affiliated charter schools violates the First Amendment. The decision follows a legal challenge brought by Wilberforce Academy against the Knox County Board of Education after the school was barred from applying for charter status due to the state’s nonsectarian requirement.

In his opinion, Judge Charles Atchley stated that while the state is not required to offer a charter school program, it cannot exclude private participants from such programs simply because they wish to exercise their religious beliefs. The ruling prevents the board from enforcing the nonsectarian mandate against the academy, though the judge declined to award the institution nominal damages.

The court’s decision relied on precedents set by the U.S. Supreme Court, specifically citing the 2022 Carson v. Makin ruling regarding religious school funding and the 2021 Fulton v. City of Philadelphia case concerning religious organizations in public programs. This ruling marks a significant development in ongoing national efforts to establish religious charter schools.