Religion in the public schools has always been a contentious issue.  Federal and state Constitutions originally trumped debates over religion in public schools by strictly forbidding its promotion.  Paradoxically, the facilities and resources of traditional public schools can be used for religious purposes unrelated to school activities.  Now, charter schools may challenge traditional agreements relied on to separate church from state.  J. Shelton Baxter examines this issue by looking at charter school law in the state of California .  California law explicitly prohibits state charter schools from supporting religion in any form, which may lead to legal challenges.  Some charter school supporters have argued that increased autonomy should mean charter schools are free to follow any mission, even those of a religious nature.  Anecdotal evidence suggests that many charter schools are founded by faith-based homeschoolers, located in religious buildings and aided financially by religious connections.  Baxter finds that California ’s charter school law can be challenged on two fronts.  First, the current exclusion of religion in all forms, even the use of facilities and resources by outside religious organizations, is inconsistent with accepted public school actions.  Second, California law may conflict with previous Federal judicial decisions.  The solution may be to make charter school regulations mirror those of traditional public schools.  Whether this would stifle the innovation that drives the popularity of charter reform remains unknown.