Supreme Court Says Montana Can't Exclude Religious Schools From Scholarship Program
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From the Left
Supreme Court says Montana program aiding private schools must be open to religious schools
A divided Supreme Court on Tuesday endorsed a Montana tax incentive program that indirectly helps private religious schools, a major victory for those who want to see more public funding of religious institutions.
Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., writing for a conservative majority in the 5 to 4 ruling, said the Montana Supreme Court was wrong to strike down the program because of a provision in the state constitution that forbids public funds from going to religious institutions. The U.S. Constitution’s protection of religious freedom prevails, he said.
“A...
From the Right
Supreme Court strikes down state ban on taxpayer funding for religious schools
The Supreme Court on Tuesday struck down a ban on taxpayer funding for religious schools, in a narrow but significant win for the school choice movement.
In the 5-4 ruling, authored by Chief Justice John Roberts, the court essentially backed a Montana tax-credit scholarship program that gave residents up to a $150 credit for donating to private scholarship organizations, helping students pay for their choice of private schools. The state's revenue department made a rule banning those tax-credit scholarships from going to religious schools before the state's supreme court later...
From the Center
Supreme Court hands win to religious schools
The Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that a Montana policy that excludes religious schools from a general student aid program violates religious freedoms protected under the U.S. Constitution.
The 5-4 majority decision, which fell along ideological lines, said that by making state-backed private school scholarships off-limits to parochial schools, the program ran afoul of First Amendment protections for the free exercise of religion, which prohibits the government from treating religious and secular groups differently.
“A state need not subsidize private education,” Chief Justice John Roberts wrote for the majority. “But...
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