There is Some Hope

In response to the Supreme Court decision requiring Maine to fund religious schools, the state formerly known as that other part of Massachusetts is now requiring that all schools that receive state funding to not discriminate against LGBTQ students.

As such, the religious schools in question will still not get funding, because they love their bigotry more than they love their money:

What a week so far for conservatives. On Tuesday, the Supreme Court struck down a Maine law that prohibited religious private schools from receiving taxpayer dollars. On Thursday, it invalidated a New York State gun safety law limiting the public carry of firearms. And on Friday, it overturned Roe v. Wade. The outcome in these cases was not surprising. The court has ruled in favor of religious litigants in an overwhelming number of cases; the gun case’s outcome was clear from the oral argument before the justices in November; and the court’s draft abortion decision was leaked in May.

What is surprising is how little the 6-to-3 decision in the Maine case, Carson v. Makin, will matter practically. And the reason offers a glimpse of hope for those who worry about a future dominated by the court’s conservative supermajority — including the many Americans troubled by the court’s decision in the gun case, New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen.

Let’s start with the Carson case. Anticipating this week’s decision, Maine lawmakers enacted a crucial amendment to the state’s anti-discrimination law last year in order to counteract the expected ruling. The revised law forbids discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation, and it applies to every private school that chooses to accept public funds, without regard to religious affiliation.

The impact was significant: The two religious schools at issue in the Carson case, Bangor Christian Schools and Temple Academy, said that they would decline state funds if, as Maine’s new law requires, accepting such funds would require them to change how they operate or alter their “admissions standards” to admit L.G.B.T.Q. students.

Nice move, but you've only bought a few years.  

The Supreme Court has already made it clear that it wants to force public funding of discrimination in Fulton v. Philadelphia.

Maine should use the time that they have to replace their program with public schools in rural areas.