School Dashboard
April 2026 | VOLUME 4 | NUMBER 4
“He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?”
– Micah 6:8
Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed! Alleluia!
Welcome to the April edition of the ACCS Legal Update. In this edition, I will provide a brief update on Maryland HB 649, followed by some safeguards to consider as your school journeys through enrollment and re-enrollment season for the 2026-2027 school year.
Maryland HB 649
On January 30th, HB 649 (“Advancing Equal Educational Opportunities for All Students in Maryland”) was given its first reading before Maryland’s House Government, Labor, and Elections Committee, and its first hearing took place on Tuesday, February 24th. On March 23rd, the bill officially passed the state House by a vote of 100-35 and an initial hearing in the Senate took place on April 1st.
For those who may have missed my previous overview of HB 649, this bill prohibits any school – public or private – that receives public funds from discriminating based on “race, color, national origin, ethnicity, ancestry, religion, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, age, or marital status.”
Further, the bill empowers the Maryland Commission on Civil Rights to enforce the nondiscrimination prohibition and creates a “private right of action, allowing individuals who believe they have experienced discrimination in education to file a civil lawsuit in court, in addition to or instead of pursuing a complaint through the Commission.”
HB 649 does pay lip service to religious schools by permitting them to discriminate on the basis of religion. However, religious schools are prohibited from discrimination on the other bases, including “sexual orientation” and “gender identity.” And, as seen in Zinski v. Liberty University, many are attempting to legally isolate sexual orientation and gender identity from religion, meaning religious schools have little or no legal protection under HB 649’s wording. Given the allowance for civil lawsuits created by this bill, religious schools could face severe legal and financial consequences for violating the law.
Additionally, as a recent institute by The Cato Institute points out, the bill’s supposed protection for religious schools applies to those “affiliated with a religious institution.” Given that wording, it seems that any independent religious school (those not tied to a particular church or denomination) would be unprotected.
Safeguards for Enrollment Season
Enrollment season is an exciting time for every school, with open houses, tours, interviews, and opportunities to welcome potential new families and students into your school community. But enrollment season is also a time to review and safeguard your application process to better protect your school’s culture and mission.
It is recommended that schools include termination points (the ADF refers to them as “circuit-breakers”) in the admissions or application process. In other words, establish clear policies that allow the admissions process to end if, for example, an applicant’s answers on the application do not fit the school’s beliefs or mission.
The ADF also recommends that schools:
• Provide robust information packets that make clear your school’s Christian mission and purpose.
• Request thorough documentation in applications.
• Conduct personal interviews to ask questions and gain personal insight into an applicant’s fit in your school’s community
• It is also important to communicate a notice of admission or denial of admission in writing. There is no requirement for your school to explain its decision to deny an applicant. If a school determines that it must explain its decision to deny admission due to a student’s or parent’s lifestyle being inconsistent with the school’s religious beliefs, we recommend seeking legal advice prior to issuing the written denial.
Things to Consider:
-
School leaders in Maryland should contact their representative(s) and voice their concerns regarding HB 649. You can search for them here. Additionally, we should all be praying for the continual defeat of such legislation.
-
During enrollment season, take time to review how effective your policies and processes are in accurately reflecting your school’s culture and mission. Is it clear that your school is an explicitly Christian school? Are expectations and requirements for students and families made clear early in the admissions process? Have there been consistent problems with students being admitted who were not a good fit for the school? What can be done to improve the admissions and application vetting process?
-
Prayer for our country and the ability for our schools to operate faithfully and successfully.
Grace & Peace,
Brian Phillips, Ed.D.
Brian Phillips is the pastor of Holy Trinity Reformed Church (CREC – Concord, NC) and teaches History & Literature at Scholé Academy and Oaks Classical Christian Academy (Albemarle, NC). He served as the Director of Consulting for The Circe Institute, Head of Upper School at Covenant Classical School (Concord, NC), and was an adjunct faculty member of Belmont Abbey College.
Dr. Phillips has an M.A. in Theological Studies, an M.A. in Classical Studies, an Ed.D. in Classical Education, and completed paralegal training at Duke University. He is also the author/editor of several books, including Sunday Mornings: An Introduction to Biblical Worship, Tales of Wonder (Vol. I & II) and the Canon Classics Guides to Dante’s Inferno and the Meditations of Marcus Aurelius. Brian and his wife, Shannon, live in North Carolina with their four children and their German Shepherd, Ajax the Great.