City officials in a Philadelphia suburb recently cited a local church food ministry for a zoning violation.
The story highlights the kinds of threats that religious liberty can face at the local level.
Watch this video to learn more.
At least 167 home schoolers took concurrent credit courses in Arkansas during the 2021-2022 school year, according to data obtained from the Arkansas Department of Higher Education.
Concurrent credit courses let students earn high school credit and college credit at the same time.
Students typically enroll in a college course — such as college algebra or Composition I — that corresponds to a high school course. The grade that the student earns counts toward both his or her high school graduation and college degree.
In Arkansas, home schoolers can earn concurrent credit by enrolling directly in courses at a college or university, but state law also lets home schoolers and private school students utilize concurrent credit programs at public high schools.
Enrolling in a concurrent credit program through a local public school may provide home schoolers with discounts on tuition and make it easier for a student to gain entry into certain college courses.
Family Council and the Education Alliance have been pleased to support laws like Act 429 of 2019 and Act 430 of 2019 that make it easier for home schoolers to access these educational opportunities.
We look forward to expanding educational opportunities for home schoolers in the future.
Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.
Public officials in the Philadelphia suburb of Pottstown, Pennsylvania, recently issued a citation against two churches operating ministries in their community.
NPR affiliate WHYY reports that the churches were cited for violating the city’s zoning code by offering free meals and providing mental health services.
The Pottstown Zoning Officer reportedly cited an Episcopal church and a United Methodist church for the violations.
“Violations” listed on the citation include:
The citation draws from the city zoning code that defines a church as “A building wherein persons assemble regularly for religious worship and that is used only for such purposes and for those accessory activities as are customarily associated therewith.”
The citation gave the ministries 30 days to apply for a zoning permit with the city or cease and desist these services.
If the churches failed to do so, they could be fined up to $500. The Episcopal News Service reports that the churches do not intend to stop the programs or apply for additional permits.
Churches should not be threatened with fines simply for giving food and basic necessities to the needy.
Stories like this one underscore why it is so important for states to safeguard the free exercise of religion.
In 2016 the Arkansas Department of Health told a Carroll County food ministry that it could not serve soup to the homeless unless the soup was “prepared in an institutional kitchen and served in the same building.”
Fortunately, a religious freedom restoration law the Arkansas Legislature passed in 2015 helped protect that ministry.
Last year the Arkansas Legislature voted to place the Arkansas Religious Freedom Amendment on the 2022 ballot. If passed, it would enshrine many of the same religious liberty protections from the 2015 law into the Arkansas Constitution.
You Can Learn More About the Arkansas Religious Freedom Amendment Here.
