Aaron Saiger was quoted in a Chalkbeat article regarding a New York law barring religious entities from operating charter schools.
But two legal scholars tell Chalkbeat that the ruling might also pave the way for more charter schools operated by religious groups, including churches.
“Trinity Lutheran opens the door because it states simply that if a religious entity is otherwise qualified to take part in a public benefit program, then it cannot be prohibited solely on the basis of its religious affiliation,” said University of Connecticut professor Preston Green.
Aaron Saiger, a law professor at Fordham University, agreed.
“I have no doubt that this case makes the door more open than it was a month ago,” said Saiger, who wrote a 2013 law review article on religious charters.
If it became easier for religious institutions to run charter schools, it would mark a significant change in several states. According to Green, who raised the idea of charters run by churches in a 2001 law review article, 10 states and Washington D.C. explicitly bar charters from being run by or affiliated with a religious entity.
Green and Saiger say those prohibitions might be threatened by the Supreme Court’s latest ruling. The decision could also affect rules on whether religious entities can authorize charter schools; in Indiana, a lawsuit was recently filed to stop a Christian college and seminary from overseeing charters.
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Saiger, though, suggests that the implications of Trinity Lutheran might be even further-reaching than who gets to run a charter school. In his view, the case also raises the possibility of charters that are explicitly religious and teach a sectarian curriculum.
