States split over exempting religious schools from pandemic closures

As many states prepare to keep students' learning online in the fall, some are weighing whether to extend religious exemptions to schools run by churches.

The question of regulating religious schools is a First Amendment concern, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton wrote in a Saturday letter to local government officials, stressing that because of the Free Exercise Clause of the Constitution and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, county governments are “prohibited from closing religious institutions or dictating mitigation strategies to those institutions.” 

“Religious private schools may continue to determine when it is safe for their communities to resume in-person instruction free from any government mandate or interference,” Paxton wrote.

Paxton’s letter came as some large school districts in the state, such as those in Dallas and El Paso, have decided to keep classes online for at least the beginning of the fall semester. As July draws to a close, many schools will at least begin online, with districts across the country citing fears over a resurgence of the coronavirus.