St. Augustine School v. Tony Evers
906 F.3d 591
| 7th Cir. | 2018Background
- St. Augustine School (a private school) and parents Joseph and Amy Forro sought state-provided student transportation or its cash equivalent under Wisconsin law; Friess Lake School District and State Superintendent Tony Evers denied the request because another school in the attendance area (St. Gabriel) was also identified as Catholic.
- Wisconsin statute limits transportation funding so that attendance areas of private schools "affiliated with the same religious denomination" shall not overlap; Wisconsin Supreme Court construed that provision neutrally to bar overlapping benefits to two schools "affiliated or operated by a single sponsoring group, whether secular or religious."
- St. Augustine publicly described itself as an "independent, private Traditional Roman Catholic School" on its application and website; its original articles of incorporation (which plaintiffs say describe it as nondenominational) were not shown to have been considered by defendants.
- Plaintiffs sued under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, alleging Free Exercise and Establishment Clause violations; the district court granted summary judgment for defendants, and the appeal followed.
- The Seventh Circuit (Wood, C.J.) affirmed summary judgment, concluding the statutory limit—construed as neutral and generally applicable—did not violate the Free Exercise Clause, and the state did not impermissibly investigate or determine religious doctrine (Establishment Clause).
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether denial of busing violated Free Exercise by conditioning benefit on religious identity | St. Augustine/Forro: denial was because of the school's religion/practices; burdens religious exercise and demands strict scrutiny | Evers/District: statute (as construed by Wisconsin courts) is neutral and generally applicable; it bars duplicate sponsorship regardless of religion | Held: No Free Exercise violation — statute is neutral/generally applicable under Smith and as construed by Wisconsin Supreme Court, so no exemption required |
| Whether application of §121.51 violated Establishment Clause by entangling state in doctrinal inquiry when labeling St. Augustine "Catholic" | St. Augustine: defendants impermissibly probed theology to classify the school as Catholic and thus denied benefits | Defendants: they relied on the school's own self-identification; they did not evaluate doctrine or practices and thus avoided entanglement | Held: No Establishment Clause violation — officials accepted the school's professed affiliation and did not adjudicate religious doctrine |
| Whether factual dispute (articles of incorporation vs. website/self-descriptor) precluded summary judgment | Plaintiffs: evidence suggests defendants reviewed or should have reviewed articles showing nondenominational status, creating a genuine dispute | Defendants: plaintiffs produced no evidence defendants actually consulted the articles; record shows defendants credited the school's own contemporaneous statements | Held: Summary judgment appropriate — plaintiffs failed to produce evidence that defendants relied on or ignored the articles; no material factual dispute |
Key Cases Cited
- Employment Div., Dep't of Human Res. of Ore. v. Smith, 494 U.S. 872 (1990) (Free Exercise does not excuse compliance with valid, neutral, generally applicable laws)
- Trinity Lutheran Church of Columbia, Inc. v. Comer, 137 S. Ct. 2012 (2017) (denying generally available public benefit solely on account of religious identity burdens Free Exercise)
- Lemon v. Kurtzman, 403 U.S. 602 (1971) (Establishment Clause test includes entanglement inquiry)
- Presbyterian Church in the United States v. Mary Elizabeth Blue Hull Mem'l Presbyterian Church, 393 U.S. 440 (1969) (courts may not adjudicate religious doctrine or determine ecclesiastical questions)
- New York v. Cathedral Acad., 434 U.S. 125 (1977) (limits on state monitoring of religious content in private school education)
- State ex rel. Vanko v. Kahl, 52 Wis.2d 206 (Wis. 1971) (statute construed to apply to any schools affiliated/operated by a single sponsoring group, secular or religious)
- Holy Trinity Cmty. Sch., Inc. v. Kahl, 82 Wis.2d 139 (Wis. 1978) (state must accept a religious school's professed affiliation and not probe doctrinal practices)