Tennessee’s ban on religious charter schools unconstitutional, judge rules

November 11, 2026

The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee at Knoxville has ruled that Tennessee’s prohibition on religiously affiliated charter schools is unconstitutional as efforts to set up religious charter schools continue across the United States.

The Christian Post reports a federal judge issued a ruling Friday siding with Wilberforce Academy in its legal challenge against the Knox County Board of Education over the state’s ban on religious charter schools, which barred the Christian nonprofit from applying to open a charter school in the county.

Judge Charles Atchley, authored the opinion, which bars the board from enforcing the law’s nonsectarian requirement.

Atchley wrote, “The First Amendment does not permit Tennessee to open its charter school program to private participants and then exclude them because they seek to exercise their religion.”

The judge added, “Tennessee retains broad authority to structure its public-education system — and it need not create a charter school program at all. But having chosen to make that option generally available to private participants, the State cannot condition participation on the surrender of a constitutionally protected right, no matter how the program is described.”

According to the Christian Post, while Atchley ruled in favor of Wilberforce Academy, he declined the institution’s request to require the Knox County Board of Education to pay nominal damages.

The decision repeatedly cited the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 Carson v. Makin decision, which ruled that Maine cannot bar parents from using funds under the state’s tuition assistance program to send their children to religious schools.

Wilberforce Academy is not the first example of a religious educational institution seeking to operate as a charter school.

Oklahoma-based St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School sought to establish itself as the first taxpayer-funded religious charter school in the U.S., but the institution’s effort was blocked by the Oklahoma Supreme Court.

The Oklahoma Supreme Court’s decision was upheld by U.S. Supreme Court in 2025. 

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