Two religious schools in Maine are appealing a federal court decision that requires them to adhere to the state’s nondiscrimination law to receive public funding. Last year, both Crosspoint Church, which operates Bangor Christian Schools,

Crosspoint Church in Bangor and St. Dominic Academy in Auburn asked the federal court in Boston to stop a Maine law that prevents some private religious schools from receiving public funds.

On Tuesday, a legal battle in Maine moved to the federal court of appeals in Boston, bringing a fight over public funding in religious schools one step closer to the United States Supreme Court. The question at the heart of both cases is,

The schools want taxpayers to pay for private education even if that school violates the Maine Human Rights Act. As it stands now in Maine law, the schools have to comply with anti-discrimination provisions in State law.