The court said that a Montana tax credit program that directed money to private schools could not exclude religious schools.
“A state does not need to subsidize private education. But once a state decides to do so, it cannot disqualify some private schools just because they are religious,” Roberts wrote in the majority opinion.
Tuesday’s opinion is a great victory for supporters of school choice programs, a hallmark of the Trump administration, and will also encourage other states to push similar programs.
The ruling comes when supporters of religious freedom, including the Trump administration, have expected the solidified conservative majority of the court to emphasize that the Constitution’s free exercise clause requires neutrality towards religion. Three low-income mothers had tried to use funds from a state initiative for the religious education of their children.
Judge Stephen Breyer, one of the liberal members of the court, disagreed and wrote: “If, for 250 years, we have drawn a line to compel taxpayers to pay the wages of those who teach their faith from the pulpit, I do not see how today you can demand that Montana adopt a different vision respecting those who teach it in the classroom. “
This story is breaking and will be updated.
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