On April 28, 2026, the Jackson-Madison County School Board unanimously approved Union University’s application to open the nation’s first religious charter school, Union Academy, in Jackson, Tenn.
Union Academy would set national precedent if successful. While other organizations have attempted to form religious charter schools, they have yet to succeed, positioning Union Academy to be the first of its kind.
On Sept. 15, 2025, Jackson-Madison County School System (JMCSS) Superintendent Marlon King approached Union University President Samuel “Dub” Oliver about his idea for charter schools in Jackson.
“The idea grew out of a simple goal: to create a space where families wouldn’t have to worry about navigating transition after transition. Among all the options we already provide, this would be a unique one — a one-stop pathway for families who want that continuity. Union Academy could be that option for them,” King said.
JMCSS is also partnering with Gestalt Community Schools to create other charter schools in Jackson, evidencing an increase in the movement locally.
Oliver agreed to the idea, believing that the effort would align with Union University’s mission, so long as the school is a Christian institution.
Given this, Union Academy would fulfill the university’s mission by reimagining how to “advance this idea of the flourishing of all members of society,” Oliver said. “One of the key drivers of flourishing is education, and we’ve demonstrated that we can do that at very high levels [in undergraduate and graduate programs], and so it’s a chance for us to do that now [in] K-12 as well.”
Union Academy will begin as a K-5 school and will eventually include grades K-12.
In addition to JMCSS, Union University is also partnering with the legal advocacy nonprofit Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) to open Union Academy.
“Alliance Defending Freedom wholeheartedly supports Union Academy in its endeavor to become the nation’s first religious charter school, opening up educational options and freedom for more Tennessee families. Tennessee parents and children are better off with more educational choices, not fewer,” ADF Senior Counsel Mark Lippelmann said in a press release published on May 4.
ADF shares Oliver’s desire to provide more options to local families.
“The Jackson-Madison County School System Board was right to approve Union Academy’s request to operate as a charter school and should be commended for refusing to engage in unconstitutional discrimination based upon the school’s religious character,” Lippelmann said.
Lippelmann notes here the tension regarding the constitutionality of a religious charter school. This tension centers on the interpretation of the First Amendment.
The First Amendment includes both a Free Exercise Clause and an Establishment Clause.
The Free Exercise Clause says that the state may not inhibit the free exercise of religion. The Establishment Clause says that the state may not establish a religion of its own.
Given this, proponents of religious charter schools base their position on the Free Exercise Clause, arguing that the state would inhibit their free exercise of religion if they withheld public funds from their organization. To withhold state funds from a public institution because of its religion is discriminatory, they say.
Alternatively, dissenters base their position on the Establishment Clause, arguing that a school which accepts public funds qualifies as a state-established religion. Using taxpayer dollars to sponsor a religious organization is to unconstitutionally favor one religion in the public square, as the argument goes.
In essence, one side is concerned about discrimination and the other about overstepping church-state relations.
Union Academy occupies the intersection between this national conflict and the local opportunity previously mentioned. This elicits support and hesitation, both of which Oliver is acutely aware of.
He recounted how dissenters approached the JMCSS Board with their misgivings. Hesitation is not confined to Jackson but reaches even to the national level.
Dr. Richard Land, former president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s public policy arm, the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC), published an op-ed on May 5, voicing his concern about a similar project.
He speaks in reference to an attempt to open a Catholic charter school in Oklahoma in spring 2025 in the case known as Oklahoma Statewide Charter School Board v. Drummond. This case largely parallels Union Academy, except for the denominational difference.
“I believe it is very possible that if the Supreme Court upholds St. Isidore as constitutional, it could very well devastate traditional public schools, private religious schools and the homeschool movement,” Land said.
Unlike Oliver, Land is concerned that the addition of a religious charter school to the national educational landscape would prove harmful.
“I want desperately to reform our public education system and to return it to educating, not indoctrinating,” Land said. “I also want desperately to maintain the wisdom of our Establishment Clause and to protect religion from public money which will lead inevitably to government interference with religion.”
Oliver shares Land’s concern for the quality of public school education but is more optimistic that providing a Christian alternative will improve the overall educational landscape in Jackson.
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