Bishop McCort Catholic Academy of Johnstown filed an amended lawsuit late last week in its attempts to bar alleged religious discrimination within the Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference.

The amended complaint seeks an injunction against the public schools in the conference and the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association, which oversees high school sports in the Commonwealth, “from any further discriminatory actions or conduct against (McCort) on the basis of it being a religious institution.”

The amended lawsuit also seeks:

— An order instructing the PIAA to “appropriately sanction” the public schools from any further actions against McCort “on the basis of it being a religious institution.”

— Compensatory damages and attorney fees.

— Similar damages against the PIAA because “it interprets its rules in a way that disfavors religious organizations through unsupported challenges to student athlete transfers and inaction when the PIAA could prevent discriminatory conduct by its member schools.”

In January, the school feared it was about to be expelled from the conference, so it filed a federal lawsuit seeking an injunction to bar what it considered ongoing religious discrimination in violation of the constitutions of both the conference and the PIAA.

The fear of an ouster was abated in a Jan. 27 meeting when the ruling board of the LHAC voted to extend the memberships of McCort and two other religious-based schools — Bishop Guilfoyle Academy of Altoona and Bishop Carroll of Ebensburg — along with 17 public schools, for another four years, beginning in July 2027.

The new lawsuit also charges that the Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference in its meetings violated the state’s Sunshine Act.

It reasons that the conference has been delegated by the public schools to adopt rules, schedules and alignments without approval of its local school boards.

The Jan. 27 meeting in which the LHAC approved the schools which would make up the conference during the four-year period from 2027 through 2031 was by secret ballot.

The amended lawsuit states that on Dec. 3, 2025, the PIAA held a statewide meeting.

During the meeting, a separate executive session was held concerning the LHAC that focused on the removal of the Catholic schools from the conference.

After that meeting, McCort received word that the public schools in the LHAC had enough votes to prevent it from continuing as a member of the conference.

The amended lawsuit charges, “The January 27th vote was made under secret ballot and only two of the public schools cast their ballot in favor of eliminating Bishop McCort from the LHAC.

“The sole purpose of the vote being made by secret ballot was one last attempt to encourage the public schools to vote in favor of terminating Bishop McCort’s relationship with the LHAC, even though a secret vote violates Pennsylvania’s Sunshine Act,” the amended lawsuit states.

It concluded, “Discovery (a legal procedure) will demonstrate that if Bishop McCort had not filed this lawsuit (on Jan. 23), the public schools would have overwhelmingly voted Bishop McCort out of the LHAC.”

McCort is being represented in its lawsuit by attorneys Nicholas Miller of Bridgeville and George R. Farneth II of Pittsburgh.

Miller, when contacted, had no comment about the case, only noting that the amended complaint “speaks for itself.”

Defense attorneys who have entered their appearance on behalf of the public schools include: Carl P. Beard and Jennifer L. Dambeck of Altoona; Thomas W. King and Thomas E. Breath of Butler; and Christopher J. Conrad of Camp Hill.

Attorneys Dana Windisch Chilson and Austin Hughey of Harrisburg are representing the PIAA.

U.S. District Judge Cathy Bisson initially rejected a temporary restraining order concerning the January meeting.

District Judge Christy Criswell Wiegand presiding in Pittsburgh on Wednesday declared the motion for a restraining order and preliminary injunction, as requested in January, as moot.

Wiegand also clarified Wednesday that the schools being sued have received summons.