Supreme Court of the United States · Official docket →
Bethany M. Hall v. A. Scott Fleming, Director, Virginia State Counsel of Higher Education
Paid petition · United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, No. 25-1574 · judgment May 13, 2026
(petition-stage, structural)
Well below the 4.1% base rate, with no standout signals pointing toward a grant.
Question presented
The Virginia Tuition Assistance Grant Program (“VTAG”) provides thousands of dollars per year to residents who attend private colleges and universities in Virginia. The program excludes students who choose certain religious majors—pursuits that Virginia considers too religious for public funding, just like Washington State considered such majors too religious to fund in Locke v. Davey, 540 U.S. 712 (2004). Petitioner Bethany Hall initially received a VTAG grant to help fund her studies as a musiceducation major at a private religious university. But when she changed her major to youth ministries, and then to music and worship, the State rescinded her grant. The Fourth Circuit held that Ms. Hall’s case is “directly analogous” to Locke and thus rejected Ms. Hall’s claim because lower courts are bound by Locke. Only this Court can overrule Locke, and there is every reason for this Court to overturn that erroneous decision now. Locke was wrong when it was decided, and this Court’s subsequent caselaw has further eviscerated its fatally flawed foundation. Yet Locke remains the law of the land, so many States’ education-funding programs continue to treat disfavored religious degrees worse than all secular studies, unconstitutionally marginalizing people of faith. This forces Ms. Hall—and thousands of students like her—to choose between their religious calling and generally available education assistance. The Question Presented is whether this Court should overrule Locke.
Counsel of record
For petitioner
Steven Werner Fitschen
National Legal Foundation
For respondent
Tillman J. Breckenridge
Office of the Attorney General of Virginia
Case
Subject area
First Amendment (estimated from the questions presented, in the Supreme Court Database’s categories)
Conference history
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Amicus briefs
14 cert-stage
Proceedings
- Oct 14 2026Brief of respondent A. Scott Fleming in opposition filed.
- Sep 14 2026Brief amicus curiae of Pacific Justice Institute filed.
- Sep 14 2026Brief amicus curiae of Jewish Coalition for Religious Liberty filed.
- Sep 14 2026Brief amici curiae of The Council For Christian Colleges & Universities, et al. filed. VIDED.
- Sep 14 2026Brief amici curiae of West Virginia, et al. filed.
- Sep 14 2026Brief amicus curiae of American Center for Law and Justice filed. VIDED
- Sep 14 2026Brief amici curiae of National Religious Broadcasters, et al. filed. VIDED.
- Sep 14 2026Brief amicus curiae of The Buckeye Institute filed.
- Sep 14 2026Brief amici curiae of Notre Dame Education Law Project, et al. filed. VIDED.
- Sep 14 2026Brief amici curiae of Christian Legal Society, et al. filed.
- Sep 14 2026Brief amici curiae of Samaritan’s Purse, et al. filed. VIDED.
- Sep 14 2026Brief amicus curiae of The Heritage Foundation filed.
- Sep 14 2026Brief amici curiae of Association for Biblical Higher Education, et al. filed. VIDED.
- Sep 11 2026Brief amici curiae of Association of Christian Schools International, et al. filed.
- Sep 01 2026Brief amicus curiae of NC Values Institute filed.
- Aug 25 2026Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is extended to and including October 14, 2026.
- Aug 24 2026Motion to extend the time to file a response from September 14, 2026 to October 14, 2026, submitted to The Clerk.
- Aug 11 2026Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due September 14, 2026)