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Carson v. Makin

The Religious Liberty Initiative filed amicus briefs in Carson v. Makin, which challenges Maine’s exclusion of religious schools from Maine's educational tuition assistance program.

The two amicus briefs were filed in 2021 on behalf of Catholic, Islamic, and Jewish groups that operate and support elementary and secondary schools.

In March, the RLI’s brief argued that the U.S. Supreme Court should review the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit’s decision in Carson v. Makin. On July 2, the Supreme Court agreed to hear the case.

• 03/12/2021 – Religious Liberty Initiative files amicus brief in support of Maine families in school choice case
• Read the full brief from March

In September, the RLI filed its second amicus brief in Carson v. Makin. The Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the case on December 8.

• 09/13/2021 – Religious Liberty Initiative files amicus brief in Supreme Court school choice case
• Read the full brief from September

News coverage

• 9/15/2021 – RLI brief cited and Professor Nicole Stelle Garnett quoted by Catholic News Service, “Court to hear case on religious schools barred from Maine choice program”
• 12/06/2021 – National Catholic Register cited op-ed written by Professor Richard Garnett and student Olivia Rogers in “Will the Supreme Court Finally End Discrimination Based on Religion in School Choice Programs?”
• 12/07/2021 – Professor Nicole Stelle Garnett quoted in the Christian Science Monitor, "The case that could breach the wall between church and state"
• 12/07/2021 – Professor Nicole Stelle Garnett quoted in the Los Angeles Times, “Supreme Court poised to further open the door for taxpayer funding of religious schools”
• 12/08/2021 – RLI brief cited and Professor Nicole Stelle Garnett quoted by Catholic News Service, “Court unsure of Maine tuition program that excludes religious schools”
• 12/08/2021 – Professor Richard Garnett mentioned in National Review, “SCOTUS and Religious Schools in Carson v. Makin”
• 12/13/2021 – Professor Richard Garnett discussed Carson v. Makin on Bloomberg Law Podcast
• 6/21/2022 – Professor Richard Garnett discussed the case on NPR with Nina Totenberg in, Supreme Court rules Maine's tuition assistance program must cover religious schools
• 6/23/2022 – Professor Richard Garnett appeared on the Bloomberg podcast, Supreme Court Backs Tax Dollars for Religious Schools
• 6/26/2022 – Professor Richard Garnett appeared on WGN Radio in, Defining the Separation of Church and State.
• 7/1/2022 Professor Nicole Stelle Garnett appeared on Apple Podcast, School Choice Matters: Nicole Garnett & School Choice
• 7/6/2022 – Professor Nicole Stelle Garnett discussed Carson v. Makin on the Catholic School Matters podcast, How will Carson v Makin affect Catholic schools?
• 7/6/2022 – Professor Nicole Stelle Garnett appeared on a Manhattan Institute panel, What's Next For Religious School Choice?
• 7/19/2022 – Professor Nicole Stelle Garnett discussed the case on At The Bar: School Choice, Religious Liberty, and the Supreme Court.
• 1/17/2023 – Professor Nicole Stelle Garnett appeared on Education Next's The Education Exchange podcast, Are Charter Schools "State Actors"?
• 4/6/2023 – Professor Nicole Garnett and Professor Rick Garnett appeared on the Institute for Justice's Short Circuit podcast, Short Circuit 266 | School Choice Special

Editorials and essays

• 10/21/2021 – Professor Nicole Stelle Garnett wrote for The 74, “Empowering Parents With More and Better Schools”
• 11/30/2021 – Professor Richard Garnett and student Olivia Rogers wrote for Newsweek, “States Must Stop Discriminating Against Religious Schools”
• 12/07/2021 – Professor Nicole Stelle Garnett wrote for City Journal, “Correcting Maine’s Error”
• 6/22/2022 – Professor Nicole Stelle Garnett wrote, "A Victory for Religious Liberty and Educational Pluralism" for the City Journal
• 6/23/2022 – Professor Richard Garnett wrote, an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal, "A Good Week for Religious Freedom."
• 6/27/2022 – Professor Nicole Stelle Garnett wrote for the Daily News, "Are religious charter schools coming soon?"
• 7/5/2022 – Professor Nicole Stelle Garnett wrote, "Another Chink in the Armor of Legal Discrimination against Religious Schools," for The Public Discourse
• 12/7/2022 – Professor Nicole Stelle Garnett wrote for City Journal, "Time for Religious Charter Schools"
• 1/12/2023 – Professor Nicole Stelle Garnett wrote for Education Next, "Supreme Court Opens a Path to Religious Charter Schools"

Events and webinars

11/08/2021 – Professor Nicole Stelle Garnett spoke to ND Law’s Education Law Forum, “Supreme Court Preview: Carson v. Makin”

11/22/2021 – Professor Nicole Stelle Garnett spoke at the Federalist Society’s “December Docket in 90 Minutes or Less”

12/02/2021 – Professor Nicole Stelle Garnett spoke at the Manhattan Institute’s “Religious Schools and Choice After Carson v. Makin”

Related Cases

• Columbus City School District et al. v. State of Ohio
• Kennedy v. Bremerton Sch. Dist.
• McNeary and Deaton v. Council for Better Education, et al
• ND Law Religious Liberty Clinic assists efforts to operate the first faith-based charter school in the U.S.
• Peltier v. Charter Day School

Meet the Team

1. 

   John Meiser

   Managing Director for Domestic Litigation

2. 

   Richard W. Garnett

   Paul J. Schierl/Fort Howard Corporation Professor of Law; Concurrent Professor of Political Science; Director, Program on Church, State & Society

3. 

   Nicole Stelle Garnett

   Associate Dean for External Engagement; John P. Murphy Foundation Professor of Law

4. 

   Josh Lacoste

   Student Fellow

5. 

   Olivia Rogers

   Student Fellow