KNOX COUNTY, Tenn. — Five Tennessee taxpayers dedicated to supporting public education and the separation of church and state filed a motion today in federal court seeking to intervene in a case about the constitutionality of a religious public charter school that is attempting to open in Knoxville. 

The lawsuit, The Wilberforce Academy of Knoxville v. Knox County Board of Education, was filed in November 2025 by a religious organization that wants to run a public charter school – funded by taxpayers – that, according to the school’s own legal complaint, would provide an “explicitly biblical and Christian education.” The proposed intervenors are seeking to join the lawsuit on the side of the defendants, the Knox County Board of Education and its members. They oppose Wilberforce Academy’s effort to force the defendants to authorize and fund it as a religious public charter school.

Public school parents, faith & community leaders oppose Wilberforce Academy

The proposed parties are public school parents and faith and community leaders from Knox County who object to their tax dollars funding a public charter school that will indoctrinate students into one religion, in violation of Tennessee and federal law and our nation’s longstanding commitment to the separation of church and state. They want to ensure that public schools remain secular and open to all. 

“Public education is part of the common good. A religious charter school would be at odds with the need to ensure public schools remain appropriate for and welcoming to students of all faiths, families, and backgrounds,” said proposed intervenor Amanda Collins, a retired school psychologist and parent of Knox County public school students. “And it would divert already limited public funds and scarce resources away from other public schools in Knox County. We can’t let this happen.” 

Charter schools are public schools, which can’t promote religious doctrine

The motion to intervene explains that charter schools are part of Knox County’s public education system, and as such, cannot promote religious doctrine. Like all public schools, charter schools must accept and serve all students and may not be run as religious schools.

The proposed parties are asking the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee to allow them to participate in the case in order to safeguard these interests.

“The Reformed tradition in which I am formed has long supported the separation of church and state, believing that our faith, and all faiths, are best supported when they are free of undue state interference. This is why I object to the use of tax dollars to support religious education of any kind, including my own religion. Religious education is the job of churches, denominations, and private religious schools,” said the Rev. Dr. Richard Coble, another proposed intervenor, who is a pastor at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Knoxville and the parent of two Knox County public school students. 

The proposed parties are represented by Americans United for Separation of Church and State, Education Law Center, the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Tennessee, Freedom From Religion Foundation, the Southern Poverty Law Center, and the law firm Morrison Foerster pro bono.