Education · Fargo, ND Metro · August 25, 2026
ND Denies All Claims in Christian School's Teacher-Licensing Lawsuit
North Dakota's attorney general has formally responded to a federal lawsuit filed by Capstone Classical Academy, a Fargo Christian school, over the state's teacher licensing requirements for private schools, according to InForum. Capstone, joined by the Institute for Justice, a teacher, and a parent, sued in June, calling North Dakota's licensing mandate for nonpublic school teachers the nation's most extreme. The state's answer, filed by Attorney General Drew Wrigley on behalf of Superintendent Levi Bachmeier and the Education Standards and Practices Board, denies virtually all claims, argues the plaintiffs lack standing, waited too long to sue, and says the case is barred by the Eleventh Amendment. It asks for dismissal with prejudice. Capstone had been notified in May 2025 that it was out of compliance and risked losing state approval. The classical school objects especially to a computer science mandate, arguing it conflicts with its deliberately low-technology instructional model. Other states, including Minnesota, South Dakota, and Montana, do not require licensing for nonpublic school teachers.
Source: InForum
Why Bible-Believing Christians Should Care
This case tests whether a state can compel a Christian school to conform its hiring and curriculum to government-defined standards as a condition of legal operation. When licensing requirements reach into classroom methods a school has adopted for religious and pedagogical reasons, the state is effectively asserting jurisdiction over how a Christian institution disciples and educates children. Believers should watch this closely, not because Scripture speaks to teacher certification directly, but because the underlying question is who has final authority over Christian education — the church and the family, or the state. Where the state demands obedience that conflicts with a school's convictions, Christians have historically recognized limits on civil authority.
Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men. — Acts 5:29
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From the book
Technocratic credentialism is the counterfeit. It is authority derived from status, bureaucracy, and ideology, detached from moral reality. It claims that holding a degree in education theory confers the right to override the moral authority of a parent. We reject it.
— Chapter 19, “Reclaiming Expertise”
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