MAINE — The U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit ruled on July 2, 2026, that private religious schools receiving public tuition assistance in Maine must comply with state antidiscrimination laws prohibiting bias based on gender identity, sexual orientation, or religion. The appeals court largely upheld a lower court's decision denying exemption requests from these laws.

The court found that requiring students to attend religious services and agree to uphold the school's mission does not violate current state law. The court stated, "Just as combatting religious discrimination qualifies as a legitimate governmental pursuit, so too combatting sexual-orientation and gender-identity discrimination rises to that level." However, the court asked the lower court to reconsider how the state's rules around religious expression apply to religious schools.

Saint Dominic Academy in Auburn and Bangor Christian Schools, operated by Crosspoint Church, sought exemptions from the Maine Human Rights Act. The schools argued that enforcing policies such as admitting openly gay or transgender students or requiring teachers to use preferred pronouns contradicted their religious beliefs. Crosspoint Church claimed that adhering to the Maine Human Rights Act would compel Bangor Christian Schools to admit students whose sexual orientations, gender identities, or religious views were inconsistent with its central religious tenets. Saint Dominic Academy further argued that state laws would necessitate facilitating a student's gender transition over parental objection and disciplining staff who objected to using a student's preferred pronouns.

Adèle Keim, an attorney with The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty representing Saint Dominic Academy, described it as "ridiculous" to suggest a Catholic school could not give parish members preference in admissions.

Jeremy Dys, senior counsel at First Liberty Institute representing Crosspoint Church, said the First Circuit opinions allow Christian schools to teach their beliefs but refuse to give them the freedom to require conduct consistent with those beliefs. Dys said, "We're looking at all the correct options right now for our client in response to this opinion." He added, "Certainly an appeal to the Supreme Court may become necessary."

Maine allows students in towns without public schools at their grade level to attend approved private schools at the state's expense. Religious schools were excluded from Maine's town tuitioning program from 1981 until 2022. In 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in a 6-3 decision that limiting this program to nonsectarian schools violated the First Amendment's religious liberty protections. Following this, the Maine Legislature amended the Maine Human Rights Act to explicitly prohibit discrimination based on gender identity and religion in education. The legislature also clarified that an exemption allowing religious schools to discriminate based on sexual orientation only applied to schools not receiving public funds.