Parents & Catholic school in court to stop Maine’s attack on faith-based education Appeals court to decide if religious schools can participate in state tuition assistance program

WASHINGTON – The Radonis family and a Catholic school in Maine will be in federal appeals court next week challenging a state law that excludes most faith-based schools from serving rural families through the state’s tuition assistance program. Even though the Supreme Court struck down Maine’s religious ban in 2022, state officials continue to exclude faith-based schools and families who rely on the program. In St. Dominic Academy v. Makin, Becket will argue on behalf of the Radonises and school to protect their ability to access the state funding.  

Keith and Valori Radonis are Catholic parents in rural Maine who live in an area without a public high school, and who want their children to attend a school that upholds their beliefs. They believe that St. Dominic Academy, a pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade Catholic school with roots tracing back to the 1870s, offers the best education for their children. 

The Radonises are not alone. Other families, including Daniel and Nancy Cronin, also live in an area without a public high school, and want their son, who has dyslexia, to attend St. Dominic so that he can receive the academic support he needs. For years, Catholic schools in the Diocese of Portland—including St. Dominic Academy, the only Diocesan high school in Maine—played a vital role in helping families like the Radonises and Cronins educate their children through the state’s tuition assistance program. This program allows parents in rural areas that do not have public schools to educate their children at private schools. That changed in 1982 when Maine began excluding faith-based schools and the families they serve from the program.

Even though the Supreme Court struck down Maine’s religious ban in 2022, state officials passed a new law to keep excluding schools like St. Dominic and families like the Radonises and Cronins. Maine’s new law gives the Maine Human Rights Commission—not parents or the school—the final word on admissions, conduct, speech, and policies upholding Catholic beliefs regarding marriage, gender, and family life. Meanwhile, Maine applies none of these rules to out-of-state boarding schools that also receive funds under the same program. As a result, faith-based schools with traditional beliefs are still being barred from the state program to help rural families.

What: 
Oral Argument in St. Dominic Academy v. Makin

Arguing before the court: 
Adèle Keim, senior counsel at Becket  

When: 
January 7, 2025, at approximately 11:00 a.m. ET 

Where: 
John Joseph Moakley U.S. Courthouse
Panel Courtroom, 7th Floor
1 Courthouse Way
Boston, MA 02210 

Link to livestream audio: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCiq_Kg0zEPrjMFK_s-KP5_g 

Becket attorneys will be available for comment following the hearing.  

For more information or to arrange an interview with a Becket attorney, contact Ryan Colby at [email protected] or 202-349-7219.