WFFC Joins National Leaders at Education Freedom Legal Network Annual Summit

The Hon. William Wagner, Distinguished Chair of the Wagner Faith & Freedom Center at Spring Arbor University, participated in the 2025 Education Freedom Legal Network (EFLN) Annual Summit held October 23, 2025, in Arlington, Virginia. The EFLN—an initiative that convenes attorneys, scholars, and policy advocates focused on protecting and advancing the freedom to educate—brought together leaders from across the country for a day of high-level strategy and collaboration. 

Advancing education freedom: from defense to offense

At the Summit, Wagner joined conversations urging the education-freedom movement to move “from defense to offense” in the courts. Sessions surveyed recent litigation trends and mapped proactive strategies to expand families’ ability to choose learning environments that align with their values. Discussion centered on identifying model cases, coordinating amicus support, and building durable precedent that safeguards pluralism in K–12 and higher education.

Parental rights: current jurisprudence and what’s next

A major track assessed the evolving jurisprudence of parental rights—long recognized as fundamental in American law—and explored future directions in both statutory and constitutional arenas. Participants engaged the implications of cornerstone cases, the standards courts apply when government policies burden parental decision-making, and how emerging disputes in curriculum, student services, and school transparency may shape the doctrine in coming years. 

Federal tax credit programs: opportunities and legal risk

Another focal point examined the federal tax-credit landscape: how existing frameworks intersect with state programs, what compliance responsibilities providers and families shoulder, and where potential Establishment Clause, Free Exercise, or administrative-law risks could arise. The conversation highlighted the need for clear guidance, careful program design, and coordinated litigation strategies to protect families and education providers as innovative financing mechanisms develop.

Strategic networking to strengthen the movement

Beyond the formal sessions, the Summit provided a dedicated forum for some of the nation’s leading lawyers and policy advocates for education freedom to connect, share resources, and coordinate work across jurisdictions. That relational infrastructure—an explicit aim of the EFLN since its launch—helps align litigation, policy, and communications efforts to more effectively serve students and families. 

Wagner appointed to EFLN Steering Committee

In recognition of his decades of public service and ongoing scholarship in constitutional governance and religious liberty, Wagner was appointed to serve on the EFLN Steering Committee. In his role as Distinguished Chair at Spring Arbor University’s Wagner Faith & Freedom Center, Wagner equips students and leaders to engage the public square with principled advocacy for freedom of thought, conscience, and religion.