St. Dominic Academy v. Makin
Description: A Catholic school in Maine is challenging state officials for denying it otherwise available access to state tuition programs because of the school's religious character and exercise.
ADF to 1st Circuit: First Amendment allows religious schools to receive public benefits
The following quote may be attributed to Alliance Defending Freedom Senior Counsel Mark Lippelmann regarding a friend-of-the-court brief ADF attorneys filed Tuesday with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit on behalf of five religious school associations in the case St. Dominic Academy v. Makin, in which a Catholic school in Maine has been excluded from the otherwise available state tuition program because of its religious character and exercise:
“When the government offers parents school choice, it cannot discriminate against religious education. The U.S. Supreme Court has affirmed this multiple times in cases like Trinity Lutheran Church of Colombia v. Comer and Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue. In fact, the Supreme Court previously ruled against the state of Maine for excluding religious schools from its tuition program. The American Association of Christian Schools, the Association of Christian Schools International, the Association for Biblical Higher Education, the International Alliance for Christian Education, and the Cardinal Newman Society all join as one voice with St. Dominic Academy in advocating for religious freedom that is consistent with First Amendment guarantees. We urge the 1st Circuit to uphold Supreme Court precedent that ensures religious schools can receive public benefits without being forced to give up their religious character or exercise.”
Alliance Defending Freedom is an alliance-building, non-profit legal organization committed to protecting religious freedom, free speech, parental rights, and the sanctity of life.
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ABOUT Mark Lippelmann
Mark Lippelmann serves as senior counsel for Alliance Defending Freedom, where he is a key member of the Center for Christian Ministries. In this role, Lippelmann is focused on protecting the freedom of Christian ministries, schools, and churches to exercise their faith without interference. In his prior role at ADF, Lippelmann was responsible for the most advanced and complex litigation in support of pro-life laws. Prior to joining ADF, Lippelmann worked as an attorney for the U.S. Postal Service in Washington, D.C., where he focused on complex class action litigation before federal courts and administrative bodies. Lippelmann also served as a federal law clerk and as an associate in private practice before joining ADF. Lippelmann earned his J.D. from Washburn University School of Law in 2009. While in law school, he served as comments editor of the Washburn Law Journal and was a research assistant for the school’s legal research and writing program. He obtained a B.A. in philosophy from The University of Kansas in 2006. He is admitted to the state bars in Kansas and Arizona and several federal courts.