US Supreme Court Approves Use Of Public Money For Religious Education

The Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that state programs providing money for public school tuition cannot exclude schools that offer religious instruction.

The decision relaxed long-standing restrictions on using taxpayer money to pay for religious education, further lowering the wall of separation between church and state.

The vote was 6-3, with Justices Stephen Breyer, Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor dissenting.

At issue was a state program in Maine that made taxpayer money available to families who live in remote areas without public high schools.

Under the state law, they could use the money for their children’s tuition at public or private schools in other communities, but not for sectarian schools, defined as those that promote a particular faith or belief system and teach material “through the lens of this faith.” 

Writing for the majority, Chief Justice John Roberts said Maine’s program promotes stricter separation of church and state than the federal Constitution requires.

He said the tuition program is not neutral because the state pays tuition for certain students at private schools — so long as the schools are not religious. That is discrimination against religion.

He also noted that the state money does not go directly to schools but flows “through the independent choices of private benefit recipients.” 

Two years ago, in a case from Montana, the court ruled that when states make tuition money generally available, they cannot exclude schools that are run by religious institutions — that have, in other words, a religious status.

But that decision left unresolved the issue of whether it would matter if the schools actually offered religious instruction.

The court has now answered that question, saying it does not matter.