STATE COLLEGE — State College Area School District agreed upon terms with Religious Rights Foundation of PA, an arm of the conservative Catholic Thomas More Society, that would allow parochial school students to participate in local district athletic activities.

Federal District Judge Matthew Brann signed off on the terms of the agreement in a consent order Wednesday.

Earlier in the case, Judge Brann wrote that, “[T]he Free Exercise Clause is clear: regardless of what reasons some parents may have for sending their children to a non-public school, a religious reason has the same value as a secular reason. If some exemptions are made, a school’s refusal to make a religious one enforces a value judgment preferring secular conduct over religious conduct.”

The case drew a contrast between homeschool and charter school students who were allowed to participate in the school’s extracurricular and co-curricular activities and parochial school students who were denied.

“Pennsylvania school districts cannot discriminate against students and exclude them from activities simply because they attend a religious based school. With this Consent Order, parochial school students will now be afforded the same athletic and educational opportunities as other students who reside within the district,” said Thomas Breth, Thomas More Society Special Counsel.

In circumstances where the parochial school sponsors a particular sport, students are not allowed to participate in that sport at the local district. The exception helps to mitigate concerns that the addition of parochial school students would unnecessarily narrow the pool of available opportunities for public school students.

Breth said it corrects a long standing issue and, “In turn, it strengthens the ability of parents to prioritize their family’s religious beliefs when making educational decisions without being forced to sacrifice educational and athletic opportunities that are offered to other students and paid for with their tax dollars.”