Today, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit issued its decision on Bishop of Charleston v. Adams, or the Blaine Amendment case. The court has ruled that the case be dismissed. The diocese’s legal challenge to the state’s Blaine Amendment has failed.

The Blaine Amendment, Article XI Section 4 of the S.C. constitution, kept Catholic and other independent schools from receiving federal COVID relief from Gov. Henry McMaster’s allocation of GEER funding (Governor's Emergency Education Relief). The governor reallocated and dispersed the funds to other organizations in the state. The Fourth Circuit found that because the funds had been spent, the case is moot.

“Therefore, even if we were to rule in Appellants’ favor on the merits,” the decision read, “we could not provide meaningful injunctive relief because there are no longer any funds for which Appellants could apply.”

The Catholic Conference is deeply disappointed in this ruling. The Blaine Amendment was designed and adopted by some of the most infamous bigots in our state history to stop the Catholic Church from educating freed Blacks and immigrants. But the amendment is not merely a disgraceful relic of the past. It continues to perpetuate injustice by blocking aid to under-resourced children and communities that are served through our Catholic and independent schools.

We have not given up. We will continue to work to end this injustice via the state legislature. We deeply appreciate House Speaker Murrell Smith, who introduced H. 3591, a bill intended to eliminate the state’s Blaine Amendment, and whose leadership helped to secure passage in the House.

We are still considering our legal options but, at this point, we believe our efforts would be better directed toward securing passage in the Senate of H. 3591, and, following the governor’s signature, securing passage of the statewide referendum.

For now, we ask for your prayers and support as we fight for the rights of all students and families to receive quality education.

To learn more about the Blaine Amendment, please click HERE.