TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Stacey Shrader Joslin on Dec 26, 2025

A legal fight is brewing over religious charter schools in Tennessee after Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti issued an opinion that the state’s law blocking them is “likely” unconstitutional under the First Amendment. Now a Christian nonprofit in Knox County, Wilberforce Academy of Knoxville, has sued the local board of education. It wants to open an "explicitly" Christian charter school. Nationally, backers of religious charter school have argued that state bans are unconstitutional and amount to religious discrimination, citing U.S. Supreme Court precedents that found states could not block private schools from receiving public funds because of their religious affiliation. According to the Tennessee Journal, Gov. Bill Lee has said he will defer to Skrmetti’s opinion that the ban is likely unconstitutional. The Daily Memphian has more on the issue from Chalkbeat.