California Father of Five Says a Public Charter School Rejected Homeschool Books That Mentioned God, and His Lawyers Are Asking the Supreme Court to Step In

A California family is taking a school-funding fight over religion toward the nation's highest court, Fox News reports.

The complaint. John Woolard told Fox News Digital that he and his wife used a public charter school program that let them teach their children at home. He said they later found their curriculum choices were being reviewed for religious content, and that any purchase that referenced God or faith, even in an "adjacent sort of way," was denied. He described a "publisher blacklist." He said the limits reached books on the religious beliefs of the Founding Fathers.

The cost. As a father of five, Woolard said the program let him tailor lessons to each child at low cost. When purchases were refused, his family paid for the materials themselves. He said he asked school officials whether the curriculum met California standards and was academically rigorous, and was told yes. He said a teacher and the principal acknowledged the faith component was the objection.

The legal case. Stephanie Taub, senior counsel at First Liberty Institute, told Fox that California has a policy that "singles out parents who want to give their children a faith-based education" and excludes them from homeschooling benefits otherwise available. She said the family lost in a lower court and the Supreme Court is considering whether to take the case, with word expected in the next few months. Woolard hopes the justices will tell California it "got the decision wrong."

The state's side. A spokesperson for the California Department of Education told Fox the department cannot comment on pending litigation.

Note for readers: the account of what the school said comes from Woolard, and the legal framing comes from his lawyer. Fox's report does not include the school's own explanation.