U.S. District Judge Charles Atchley ruled in favor of a proposed Christian charter school that challenged Tennessee’s prohibition on religious charter schools.
Atchley ruled last week that Tennessee’s requirement for charter schools to operate without religious affiliation or instruction violated the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment as applied to Wilberforce Academy of Knoxville. He permanently enjoined the Knox County School Board from enforcing Tennessee Code Annotated (TCA) 49-13-111(a)(2) against the academy in future applications.
His decision could pave the way forward for the school, which sued the district after the state’s policy requiring charter applicants to affirm they would be a “nonsectarian, non-religious” school stopped it from proceeding with a charter application.Â
The academy is attempting to establish a K-8 charter school that would offer religious instruction.
The lawsuit continued even after the Tennessee General Assembly amended the law last year to allow religious institutions to operate charter schools, as lawmakers did not change the portion of the law requiring the schools to be “nonsectarian, non-religious” institutions once open.
It also drew support from the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which intervened in the lawsuit on behalf of the school district.
Atchley, who was appointed by President Donald Trump in 2020, ultimately ruled that Tennessee cannot require a charter school applicant to “abandon its religious beliefs or practices” to access the charter school program. He also wrote, “Tennessee charter schools are not government entities,” and that receiving taxpayer funding and operating under government regulations did not make the schools government entities.
While declaring the prohibition on religious schools unconstitutional and barring the district from enforcing that portion of Tennessee law when considering Wilberforce’s application, Atchley stopped short of requiring the district to automatically approve the charter school request.
He also did not issue a statewide injunction, meaning his order does not block other schools from enforcing Tennessee’s prohibition on religious charter schools.
Atchley also rejected Wilberforce’s request for nominal monetary damages, finding the Knox County school board lacked the authorization to decline to enforce Tennessee’s prohibition on religious charter schools.
Wilberforce executive director Zach Wishart praised the judge’s decision in a statement.
“Despite facing opposition from the ACLU, the Southern Poverty Law Center, the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, and the Knox County Board of Education, we have secured a tremendous victory for religious liberty,” said Wishart, according to Knoxville Daily Sun. “Judge Atchley rejected their arguments, affirming the constitutional rights of Christian organizations like ours to establish and operate faith-based charter schools.”
Wishart stated, “This victory is bigger than a courtroom ruling. It advances educational freedom and opens the door for more children, regardless of their family’s financial circumstances, to access a tuition-free, Christ-centered education.”
A spokesperson for Knox County Schools said on Tuesday that the Knox County Law Department was reviewing the opinion, but did not indicate whether the district would appeal.
The Christian school originally filed its lawsuit last year, shortly after Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti’s office released a legal opinion finding the law likely unconstitutional.
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Tom Pappert is a 2025 recipient of the Dao Prize and the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star. He also reports for the Star News Network. Follow Tom on X. Email tips to [email protected].
