The best Catholic schools, colleges, and graduate programs have strong policies that uphold their Catholic mission and identity in every aspect of their operations—from academics to athletics and everything in between. The Cardinal Newman Society has collaborated with legal scholars and educators at the K-12 and higher education levels, as well as reviewed Church documents and research reports, to compile policy standards on what the Church expects of Catholic education. Through this effort, the Society has identified foundational Church principles, created standards, and suggested ways to put these policies into action.
The Catholic formation of each student is the driving force behind implementing strong Catholic policies. Consistent and faithful policy application also helps:
- ground the institution in a Christian culture;
- assure students and others of the institution’s position and rationale;
- provide the community with clear expectations;
- protect the institution against potential litigation and
- bolster the defense of its religious freedom.
In the end, it’s not enough for a Catholic school or college to just say that it’s “faithfully Catholic.” The evidence of strong Catholic policies across the board must demonstrate this! The policies provide consistency even as leaders at a Catholic school or college come and go.
The good news is that The Cardinal Newman Society has made this easy for Catholic school and college leaders. Below, please find guidance on various policies a school or college should have in place, with links to read more.
A policy on human sexuality should articulate a clear and convincing Christian anthropology. These statements should include that there are two sexes–male and female; that marriage is between a biological man and a biological woman for the procreation of children; that the virtue of chastity is practiced according to one’s vocation; and that one’s biological sex and gender are not to be disaggregated but seen in harmony with God’s plan for humanity.
Learn more: Policy Standards on Human Sexuality in Catholic Education
Additional Policy Guidance
Sample policy wording might include: “Students will be identified by their biological sex in the determination of admissions, athletic programs, locker and restroom use, correspondence, school records, and conversation. No pronouns except those that align with the student’s biological sex will be used.”
A policy can help a Catholic school prioritize outstanding literature and the arts that promote a healthy imagination and Catholic worldview at the grade school level, rather than simply replicating the literature and readings found in secular schools. At the high school level, a policy can help ensure that students encounter more complex topics but typically in timeless literature and always with the aid of a well-formed teacher and through a Catholic lens.
Learn more: Policy Standards on Literature and the Arts in Catholic Education
Building and protecting a school’s community should be a central concern in an admissions policy. While not every family is ready to embrace that mission and participate in it, the admissions process can be a work of charity and mercy for both those who are admitted and those who are not received into the school.
Learn more: Resource on admissions policies at Catholic schools
Additional Policy Guidance
A Catholic school’s admissions might acknowledge parents as primary educators, utilize a contract to help parents and students understand that they are entering a faith-based community which they have an obligation to support, provide full disclosure about curricular, extra-curricular and accommodation resources that may or may not be available to match a student’s needs, and deny admission if the public behavior or statements of a student or parent might disrupt the Catholic spiritual or moral formation of its students or the school’s authentic Catholic culture.
A policy outlines the process in place for the vetting and denial of speakers whose public positions or advocacy counter that of the institution or the Catholic Church. If an invited speaker’s position counters that of the Church, a provision is made to clearly present and defend Church teaching at the event.
Learn more: Resources on inviting speakers to advance the mission of Catholic schools and colleges
Books and programs which are specifically designed to foster a Catholic worldview are a natural choice for Catholic education, but sometimes secular materials and programs might be used. A policy on the use secular materials might include that such materials and programs must be carefully evaluated to determine if their underlying philosophy, content, and activities are aligned to the mission of Catholic education and, if used, what adaptations might be needed.
Learn more: Policy Standards on Secular Academic Materials and Programs in Catholic Education
Catholic schools should recognize the parents as primary educators in all things, and most especially in topics of human sexuality. This should be evident in a school’s policy on human sexuality programs.
Learn more: Policy Standards on Sexuality Programs in Catholic Education
Additional Policy Guidance
Some schools leave sexuality instruction entirely to parents: The Cardinal Newman Society respects that approach and has no recommendation or requirement for such instruction. Other schools perceive a need for instruction as part of the school curriculum, and such instruction has been approved by the Church as long as they are undertaken within its parameters. If offered, all sexuality instruction is transparent to the parents, grounded in Christian anthropology, and respects a child’s level of personal development, innocence, and natural latency period, and it does not offend modesty, chastity, or purity.
Best practice in invoking a faith or morals clause involves ensuring the teacher understands and participates in the school’s religious mission and is aware of areas of potential moral concern.
Learn more: FAITH AND MORALS language in catholic school teacher employment documents (cardinalnewmansociety.org)
In Catholic schools and colleges, a policy should describe sports as an extension of the school’s Catholic mission and the role of sports in the integral development of the person in virtue. Additionally, sports in Catholic education should be defended against any exploitation.
Learn more: Policy Standards on the Formation of the Human Person in Sports
A policy exists that limits awards and honors for recipients to those individuals whose public positions and advocacy aligns with the teaching of the Catholic Church.
Learn more: Catholics in Public Life, 2004, bullet 4.
A mission statement includes religious mission, goals, and authority. Sample wording might include: “faithful to the Magisterium of the Catholic Church and in accord with the Holy Father’s document on higher education, Ex corde Ecclesiae (for colleges),” “to aid students in becoming ardent disciples of Christ in this life and beyond,” “following the tenets of the Catholic faith, our institution,” or other such wording.
Learn more: Policy Standards on Mission, Philosophy, and Faith Statements
A policy should require financial investments to be placed in morally and socially responsible financial vehicles.
Sample wording might include: “Investments conform to the moral principles of the Catholic Church and seek to foster good and avoid evil. Specific restrictions should be placed on the purchase of equity securities of companies that are involved in fostering evil (e.g., abortion, contraception, embryonic stem cell research, and pornography). Opportunities should be pursued to invest in companies that promote good (e.g., foster the culture of life).”
Nondiscrimination statement should not include “religion,” “sexual orientation,” or “sexual expression” as protected categories. Religious institutions have Title VII and Title IX exemptions, as well as Constitutional protections to hire and admit students in line with their mission. Sample wording might include: “This Catholic institution does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, creed, national origin, ancestry, sex, marital status, age, or disability in matters of admissions, employment, or services in its educational programs or activities.”
Learn more: Resource on nondiscrimination statements
Policy limits facility use to organizations and individuals whose policies, positions, and advocacy align with that of the Catholic Church.
Sample wording might include: “The Institution prohibits facility use to any outside organization, company, vendor, or person operating contrary to the Institution’s mission or the teaching and practice of the Catholic Church.”
Learn more: Resource on protecting your right to educate
A policy is in place that bans pornographic materials of any type on campus. The school or college has a filter on campus networks to monitor and block material of a pornographic nature.
Learn more: Resources on fighting pornography at Catholic schools and colleges
Student residence policies exist to support chastity, clean living, safety, health, and virtuous friendships. A preferred arrangement is single-sex dorms and no opposite-sex visitation. If visitation is allowed in single-sex dorms, the policy clarifies hours of access. If access is allowed to bedrooms, an open-door policy exists.
Learn more: Resources on promoting virtue in student residences at Catholic colleges