Starting in the fall of 2018, separate schools in the province will have to fully accept the religion they follow after a court ruling this week.

Back in 2005, when a separate school in the community of Theodore, northwest of Yorkton, was created, the public schools challenged it saying the Catholic school wasn't a true separate facility because they accepted non-Catholic students, and therefore shouldn't receive separate school funding.  

This week, a Court of Queen's Bench judge issued the ruling that after the next school year, non-Catholic students won't be able to attend Catholic schools in Saskatchewan. So as of June 30, 2018, Saskatchewan school children who are not Catholic will have to attend public schools, barring an appeal of the decision. It's not yet clear how the schools will determine if a student is Catholic.

The ruling could have wide sweeping implications for different families and organizations. In some communities, the Catholic schools offer programs that the public schools don't. For the Moose Jaw Warriors, the local hockey club has a long standing, successful partnership with Vanier Collegiate.