Sectarian schools may violate state anti-discrimination laws in the name of religious freedom.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court overturned decisions of an administrative law judge, a trial court, and an appeals court when it ruled that sectarian schools may violate state anti-discrimination laws in the name of religious freedom. In a four-to-three decision on July 21, the court denied teacher Wendy Ostlund the right to file a discrimination claim under the Wisconsin Fair Employment Act when she was laid off from Coulee Catholic Schools at the age of fifty-three, ruling that employees of religious institutions are exempt from protection against discriminatory firing for age, gender, and race in order to protect religious freedom.

Karen Ann Gajewski is a contributing editor to the Humanist and a documentation project coordinator.