Two religious schools from Maine argued in federal court on Tuesday against the state’s anti-discrimination law, which they say infringes on their constitutional right to free exercise of religion. To what extent Maine can allow religious schools to follow their practices — many of which uphold traditional Christian values and can be inherently exclusionary to

The schools, Crosspoint Church, which operates Bangor Christian Schools, and Auburn's St. Dominic Academy, separately sued the state in 2023.

On Tuesday, a legal battle in Maine moved to the federal court of appeals in Boston, bringing a fight over public funding in religious schools one step closer to the United States Supreme Court. The question at the heart of both cases is,

The schools want taxpayers to pay for private education even if that school violates the Maine Human Rights Act. As it stands now in Maine law, the schools have to comply with anti-discrimination provisions in State law.