THE FEDERALIST/ Joy Pullman-
While repeatedly flipping the Constitution and right voters the bird this spring, the Roberts Supreme Court put the finger down for a 5-4 decision barring states from discriminating against the religious upbringing of children. It marks a significant potential advance for school choice, as nearly half the country’s parents wish they could send their children to private schools but only about one in ten do, due largely to their lack of control over public funds expended in their children’s names.
When Montana’s legislature passed a law in 2015 allowing tiny tax credits for up to $150 in donations to private-school scholarships, the state tax bureau refused to credit any donations to religious schools. It argued, and the state supreme court agreed, that treating religious organizations the same as secular organizations conflicted with a state constitution provision known as a Blaine Amendment.
“Drawing on ‘enduring American tradition,’ we have long recognized the rights of parents to direct ‘the religious upbringing’ of their children,” wrote Chief Justice John Roberts in the court’s majority opinion. “Many parents exercise that right by sending their children to religious schools, a choice protected by the Constitution. But the no-aid provision [Blaine amendment] penalizes that decision by cutting families off from otherwise available benefits if they choose a religious private school rather than a secular one, and for no other reason.” Continue reading…
