Religion in Schools

Learn more about the relationship between religion and schools—including the separation of church and state and issues of religious freedom

Explainer

Bible laying on a school desk in an empty classroom full of desks.
Religion in Public Schools, Explained
Public schools cannot promote any particular religion, and they must respect the individual religious beliefs of students and staff.
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A selection of books featuring LGBTQ characters that are part of a Supreme Court case are pictured, Tuesday, April, 15, 2025, in Washington.
A selection of books featuring LGBTQ+ characters that are part of a U.S. Supreme Court case are pictured on April, 15, 2025, in Washington.
Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP
Law & Courts Supreme Court Leans Toward Parents on Opt-Outs for LGBTQ+ Lessons
The U.S. Supreme Court took up a case on whether religious parents may remove their children from public school lessons on LGBTQ+ topics.
Mark Walsh, April 22, 2025
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6 min read
Jeff Roman works on homework with his son.
Jeff Roman, a parent who has religious concerns about LGBTQ+ storybooks used in the Montgomery County, Md., school district, works on homework with his son.
Courtesy of Becket Fund for Religious Liberty
Law & Courts Supreme Court Faces Big Test on Religious Students' Opt-Outs From LGBTQ+ Books
The justices will weigh whether a school district must allow parents with religious objections to LGBTQ+ books to excuse their children.
Mark Walsh, April 17, 2025
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9 min read
The United States Capitol building as a bookcase filled with red, white, and blue policy books in a Washington DC landscape.
Luca D'Urbino for Education Week
Law & Courts Opinion Can States Bar Religious Charter Schools? The Supreme Court Will Soon Decide
Recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions suggest that bans on faith-based charter schools may violate the Free Exercise Clause.
Rick Hess, March 25, 2025
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13 min read
People Waiting In Line Before Brass Scale On Blue Background
E+
Law & Courts Religious Charters, LGBTQ+ Books, and More: A Winter Legal Roundup
This winter, key court cases tackled school desegregation, parental rights, religious charters, LGBTQ+ policies, and education funding.
Mark Walsh, March 19, 2025
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7 min read
The U.S. Supreme Court is seen near sunset in Washington, Oct. 18, 2018.
The Trump administration has filed briefs supporting conservative positions in two high-profile U.S. Supreme Court cases on religion and public education.
Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP
Law & Courts Trump Admin. Backs Catholic Charter, LGBTQ+ Lesson Opt-Outs in Supreme Court
The Trump administration filed briefs supporting conservative positions in two big cases on religion and public education
Mark Walsh, March 13, 2025
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5 min read
The Supreme Court in Washington, June 30, 2024.
The U.S. Supreme Court has granted review in a potentially landmark case about whether a state may, or even must, include a religious school in its public charter school funding program.
Susan Walsh/AP
Law & Courts Are Religious Charter Schools Legal? The Supreme Court Will Decide Soon
The court's ruling could fundamentally alter the line between church and state in education.
Mark Walsh, January 24, 2025
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5 min read
John Kluge, a former Indiana teacher, pictured in an undated photo.
John M. Kluge is an Indiana teacher who was dismissed for refusing to use transgender students' chosen names and pronouns.
Courtesy of Alliance Defending Freedom
Law & Courts Legal Fights Highlight Clashes Over Transgender Students’ Pronouns in Schools
A federal court weighs the case of a teacher who refused to use students' chosen names and pronouns, as similar questions arise elsewhere.
Mark Walsh, January 23, 2025
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9 min read
The Supreme Court on Wednesday afternoon, April 19, 2023, in Washington.
A view of the Supreme Court in the afternoon on April 19, 2023, in Washington.
Jacquelyn Martin/AP
Law & Courts Can Parents Opt Kids Out of Reading LGBTQ+ Books? The Supreme Court Will Decide
The U.S. Supreme Court will take up a school district's policy of refusing to let parents opt out their children from LGBTQ+ storybooks.
Mark Walsh, January 17, 2025
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3 min read
Student with books and laptop computer
iStock/Getty
Curriculum 7 Curriculum Trends That Defined 2024
From religious-themed mandates to reading to career prep, take a look at what EdWeek covered in curriculum in 2024.
Sarah Schwartz, December 13, 2024
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9 min read
An empty classroom is shown at A.G. Hilliard Elementary School on Sept. 2, 2017, in Houston.
An empty classroom is shown at A.G. Hilliard Elementary School on Sept. 2, 2017, in Houston. Texas's state school board has approved a curriculum with Bible-infused lessons, the latest of a wave of state policies challenging the church-state divide in schools.
David J. Phillip/AP
States More States Are Testing the Limits Around Religion in Public Schools
A wave of state policies mixing public education and religion are challenging the church-state divide in public schools.
Brooke Schultz, November 25, 2024
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4 min read
A Texas flag is displayed in an elementary school in Murphy, Texas, Thursday, Dec. 3, 2020.
A Texas flag is displayed in an elementary school in Murphy, Texas, in 2020.
LM Otero/AP
Curriculum Texas Students May Soon Be Reading Bible Stories in English Classes
The state has advanced a controversial curriculum that includes Christian teachings in K-5 lessons.
Sarah Schwartz, November 19, 2024
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5 min read
Photo of Ten Commandments poster on school wall.
Getty
Law & Courts Ten Commandments Law for Public Schools Is 'Impermissible,' Judge Rules
The Louisiana law would require displays of the Ten Commandments in every public school classroom.
Mark Walsh, November 12, 2024
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4 min read
Image of a young boy pulling the bible off of a bookshelf.
D-Keine/E+
Law & Courts This State Requires Schools to Teach the Bible. Parents and Teachers Are Suing
Opponents of an Oklahoma directive that compels schools to teach the Bible are suing the state’s superintendent of public instruction.
Brooke Schultz, October 18, 2024
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4 min read
Illustration of a montage of election and politics imagery with a school building and money symbol included.
iStock/Getty
School Choice & Charters Charter Schools Are in Uncharted Political Waters This Election Season
From big constitutional questions to more practical, local concerns, the charter school sector faces a number of challenges.
Arianna Prothero, October 11, 2024
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6 min read
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