Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-Mississippi, and Sen. Ted Budd, R-North Carolina, filed an amicus brief to the U.S. Supreme Court in defense of home-schooling parents’ right to use a religious-based curriculum in the classroom.
The senators’ amicus brief comes after a lower court decision in Woolard v. Thurmond that ruled home-school independent-study programs are public-school programs.
“As part of California’s publicly funded independent-study programs, parents can teach their own children in their own homes with limited oversight from a private, nonprofit corporation operating a charter school,” the brief said. “And subject to general state standards, parents can choose any curriculum they want for their homeschooling—with one exception: religion. That overt discrimination—which Respondents say is required by California’s Blaine Amendment—clearly violates the Constitution. And it is preposterous to say, as did the Ninth Circuit, that homeschooling parents are actually state actors.”
“This amicus brief argues that specifically restricting the rights of parents to use faith-based curriculum is unconstitutional, and I am hopeful that this argument will help the Supreme Court to determine that a California court decision should be overturned,” Hyde-Smith said in a Sept. 29 press release.
Catholic senators who signed on to the brief include Sen. Pete Ricketts, R-Nebraska, and Sen. Jim Risch, R-Idaho.
Notre Dame religious-liberty advocates urge Supreme Court to allow state funding for religious studies
Notre Dame law professors and religious liberty organizations are urging the U.S. Supreme Court to reconsider a 2004 ruling that allows states to exclude students pursuing religious-ministry degrees from publicly funded scholarships.
The Sept. 14 brief argues that Locke v. Davey is hard to square with newer Supreme Court rulings that bar states from discriminating against religious students and institutions.
The brief comes amid religious liberty cases involving two Virginia students, Bethany Hall and Cameron Johnson, who were denied state scholarship funds because they are pursuing degrees related to religious ministry.
“This Court has repeatedly held that the First Amendment prohibits the government from barring religious institutions, and the individuals that they serve and educate, from public funding solely because they are religious or engage in religious activity or instruction,” the brief said. “Locke sits uneasily with these recent decisions.”
The Notre Dame Law School Education Law Project; the Notre Dame Program on Church, State, and Society; and Notre Dame Law School’s Lindsay and Matt Moroun Religious Liberty Clinic are listed on the brief alongside the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America.
Baylor center to build chapel as student Mass attendance surges
St. Peter Catholic Student Center — the Catholic ministry adjacent to Baylor University in Texas — announced plans to build a new, larger chapel because the existing worship space is too small for the number of students attending Mass.
Father Henry Carter Finch of the Catholic center at one of the largest Baptist universities in the U.S. said: “Our community has grown tremendously the past few years, as more and more young people respond to the promptings of grace to seek the fullness of life in the Church.”
Finch said in a video message announcing the construction of the chapel that the pews are overflowing and the OCIA (Order of Christian Initiation of Adults) program is full.
According to the Catholic center’s website, the chapel will have 460 seats. An existing chapel has 175 seats with 220 in overflow configuration. The chapel is projected to cost $10 million.
News of the chapel comes as Catholic conversions have reportedly surged on college campuses across the country.
Catholic University rises in U.S. News’ ‘Best Colleges’ rankings
The Catholic University of America (CUA) has risen 21 places in U.S. News and World Report’s “Best Colleges” rankings.
CUA jumped from 169 to 148 in the 2027 edition of national university rankings and also debuted at No. 75 in the “Top Private Colleges” category. It rose three spots to No. 72 on the list of “Best Value Schools,” according to a Sept. 22 press release.
“This year’s rankings recognize what our students and families already know: Catholic University offers an exceptional education at a real value,” Karna Lozoya, vice president for university communications, said in the release. “A 21-spot jump is a testament to the dedication of our faculty and staff and to the investments we’ve made in academic excellence and student success.”