Media Mentions
At The Bar: School Choice, Religious Liberty, and the Supreme Court
July 19, 2022
Independent Women's Forum — Notre Dame Law Professor Nicole Garnett is At the Bar to discuss the Supreme Court’s recent ruling in Carson v. Makin. Ginny Gentles from IW’s Education Freedom Center also joins the discussion.
How will Carson v Makin affect Catholic schools?
July 06, 2022
Catholic School Matters — Nicole Garnett, senior policy adviser to the Alliance for Catholic Education and a Notre Dame University law professor, recently joined Tim Uhl, secretary of education/superintendent for the Catholic Diocese of Buffalo, on the Catholic School Matters podcast to discuss the recent Carson v. Makin Supreme Court case and implications for school choice moving forward.
What's Next For Religious School Choice?
July 06, 2022
Manhattan Institute — On June 21, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down an important win for advocates of school choice in Carson v. Makin. Chief Justice John Roberts, writing for a conservative-leaning 6–3 majority, held that Maine violated the Free Exercise Clause by excluding religious education from its public tuition assistance program.
Another Chink in the Armor of Legal Discrimination against Religious Schools
July 05, 2022
Public Discourse — In Carson v. Makin, the Supreme Court held that Maine’s exclusion of faith-based schools from a tuition assistance program for students in rural districts violated the Free Exercise Clause. The case, which is in many ways the culmination of a battle for equal treatment of faith-based schools spanning more than a century and a half, has significant implications for education policy.
School Choice Matters: Nicole Garnett & School Choice
July 01, 2022
Apple Podcasts — Nicole Garnett, the senior policy adviser to ACE & a Notre Dame law professor, joins Dr. Tim Uhl on the Catholic School Matters podcast to discuss the recent Carson v. Makin Supreme Court case and implications for school choice moving forward. #catholicschoolmatters
New York Daily News
Are religious charter schools coming soon?
June 27, 2022
New York Daily News — Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court held that Maine’s exclusion of faith-based schools from a tuition-assistance program for students in rural school districts violates the First Amendment’s free exercise clause. The reason why is clear: “The State pays tuition for certain students at private schools — so long as the schools are not religious.”
WGN
Defining the separation of church and state
June 26, 2022
WGN Radio — Richard Garnett, Law Professor at Notre Dame, joined WGN Radio’s Karen Conti to discuss freedom of religion and the separation of church and state. He highlighted the case involving a Maine educational program that provides tuition assistance to parents in school districts that don’t have high schools, allowing them to choose another high school or private for their children to attend. However, this program excludes religious schools which brings up the argument whether or not this violates our freedom of religion.
The Wall Street Journal
A Good Week for Religious Freedom
June 23, 2022
The Wall Street Journal — The Supreme Court reaffirms that states can’t disfavor schools on account of faith.
Bloomberg
Supreme Court Backs Tax Dollars for Religious Schools
June 23, 2022
Bloomberg — Richard Garnett, a Professor at Notre Dame Law School, discusses a divided Supreme Court decision strengthening religious rights by bolstering the rights of parents to use taxpayer funds for religious education.
A Victory for Religious Liberty and Educational Pluralism
June 22, 2022
City Journal — The Supreme Court rejects policies that exclude faith-based schools from private-school-choice programs.
NPR
Supreme Court rules Maine's tuition assistance program must cover religious schools
June 21, 2022
NPR — The U.S. Supreme Court handed school choice advocates a major victory on Tuesday. By a 6-3 vote along ideological lines, the court opened the door further for those seeking taxpayer funding for religious schools.
Newsweek
The Constitution Protects, Not Punishes, Religious Expression
April 29, 2022
Newsweek — The Supreme Court heard oral arguments on Monday in a closely watched religious-freedom case about a high school football coach who was punished for praying. Court watchers agree that the justices are likely to conclude that the Bremerton School District violated Coach Joe Kennedy's rights by firing him for kneeling at midfield for a post-game prayer. And so they should; the First Amendment protects religious expression, even in public places. It does not require — indeed, it does not permit — government officials to censor such expression.
CNN
Supreme Court conservatives appear sympathetic to former high school coach who led prayers after games
April 25, 2022
CNN — Several conservative Supreme Court justices on Monday appeared sympathetic to the arguments of a public high school football coach who said his constitutional rights were violated when he was suspended for praying at the 50-yard line after games.
Endorse Religious Liberty
April 25, 2022
City Journal — The Supreme Court has a chance to make clear that the Constitution does not permit, let alone require, the government to discriminate against expressions of faith.
USA Today
Supreme Court to hear case of praying coach who lost his job after kneeling on the field
April 24, 2022
USA Today — From coach Joseph Kennedy's perspective, the yearslong fight over his decision to pray on the 50-yard line following his team's football games is clear cut: He made a promise that he would offer his thanks on the field – win or lose.
Football, Faith, and the First Amendment – Part 2
April 21, 2022
We the People podcast — Nicole Garnett of Notre Dame Law School and Rachel Laser of Americans United for Separation of Church and State join host Jeffrey Rosen to discuss the case Kennedy v. Bremerton School District; the questions raised around the limits of free speech, free exercise of religion, and the separation of church and state in schools; and how the Court might rule based on its prior jurisprudence — from the Lemon v. Kurtzmann test to the Abington v. Schempp case — and some justices’ questioning of it.
A praying football coach makes his case
April 20, 2022
Deseret News — When Joe Kennedy was offered a job as a football coach at Bremerton High School in Washington state, he dropped to his knees and prayed. He wanted to know whether God supported the career move and how accepting the position would affect his faith.
The “reasonable observer” of prayer in school
April 18, 2022
SCOTUStalk — Professor Nicole Stelle Garnett and supervising attorney John Meiser of the Religious Liberty Clinic at Notre Dame Law School talk about the amicus brief the clinic filed in Kennedy v. Bremerton School District.
Supreme Court must determine religious voices deserve a place in the public square, experts say
January 13, 2022
Notre Dame News — On Tuesday (Jan. 18), the Supreme Court of the United States will hear oral arguments in Shurtleff v. Boston, a case that asks the court to hold that government officials may not exclude religious expression from the public square. At issue is whether the city of Boston can exclude a community group from flying its flag in front of Boston City Hall because the flag features a Latin cross.
-
Bloomberg
Professor Richard Garnett discusses Carson v. Makin on Bloomberg Law Podcast
December 13, 2021
Bloomberg — Richard Garnett, a professor at Notre Dame Law School, discusses the Supreme Court signaling in a Maine case that it is poised to strengthen the rights of parents to use public dollars to pay tuition at faith-based schools.