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Federal court: Maine Christian schools receiving public funding must follow gender, sexuality rules

July 9, 2026 · 1 min read

Maine is allowed to exclude Catholic schools and other private institutions from public funding if the schools refuse to abide by gender- and sexuality-related nondiscrimination laws, a federal appeals court said this month.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit on July 2 ruled against St. Dominic Academy in the Diocese of Portland, denying the school’s request for an injunction against Maine’s LGBT-related nondiscrimination rules. If granted, the injunction would have allowed the school to access public funding streams.

The school had argued against requirements that it facilitate student “gender transitions” and had said it would not require staff to refer to students by opposite-sex pronouns.

The court, however, said that “combatting sexual-orientation and gender-identity discrimination” is a “legitimate governmental pursuit” and that requiring publicly funded schools to follow those rules “rationally relates” to that pursuit.

Such schools are also required to publicly affirm the “gender identity” of their students, the court said.

The ruling comes several years after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Maine could not ban students from using public student…

Source: Catholic News Agency · Read the full story →

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💬 Comments (5) 🌐 Show original

Elizabeth Johnson

This ruling basically tells Catholic schools they have to choose between their faith and the state money. St. Dominic tried to hold the line on pronouns and transitions, and the court called that discrimination anyway. Sad to watch another door close for families who want a religious education.

Julien Martin

This is very sad for the families of St. Dominic. They just wanted to not use opposite pronouns and not make transitions easier, and the court says that's discrimination that justifies cutting public funds. Eventually, we will end up only having the choice between public school or paying for everything ourselves.

Anthony Collins

Yeah, it's a tough spot. St. Dominic drew a clear line on pronouns and transitions, and the court basically said "take the money or stick to your beliefs." Our parish families already stretch to cover tuition; this just makes it harder for the ones who want their kids formed in the faith instead of the state's rules.

Alexandre Laurent

That’s exactly it, Julien. At St. Dominic, they just asked to respect their Catholic faith without imposing pronouns or transitions, and the court turns that into discrimination. As a result, Catholic families find themselves paying twice: taxes and private school. Where are we, honestly?

Василий Тарасов

It's a pity that the court in Maine said outright: either take the money and call boys girls, or sit without help. In St. Dominic just abandoned these pronouns and transitions, and they were told that this is discrimination. It’s already hard for our families to pay, and here’s another blow.