WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that religious schools can’t be excluded from a Maine program that offers tuition aid for private education, a decision that could ease religious organizations’ access to taxpayer money.
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The most immediate effect of the court’s 6-3 decision beyond Maine will be next door in Vermont, which has a similar program.
But the outcome also could fuel a renewed push for school choice programs in some of the 18 states that have so far not directed taxpayer money to private, religious education.
Chief Justice John Roberts wrote for a conservative majority that the program violates the Constitution’s protections for religious freedoms.
“Maine’s ‘nonsectarian’ requirement for its otherwise generally available tuition assistance payments violates the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment. Regardless of how the benefit and restriction are described, the program operates to identify and exclude otherwise eligible schools on the basis of their religious exercise,” Roberts wrote.
The court’s three liberal justices dissented. “This Court continues to dismantle the wall of separation between church and state that the Framers fought to build,” Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote.
Our Schools will never let you get away with paying tuition, they will come up with something regardless, it’ll be 5k registration or building fee.
When Brooklyn Schools began accepting Child Care vouchers, they began charging a bunch of new fees, so that parents paid regardless of what earnings they made.
Unless parents begin making lots of noise (Anonymously of course) the schools will never disclose how much funding they already get for meals, busing, covid testing etc etc, the list never ends with ABA and other therapy kickbacks.
We have no idea how much money they have and keep on coming for more, all in the name of the Rabbeim who never really see the money, it goes for real estate investments and exuberant unjustified managerial costs.
Sonya should resign from the Court that she continues to disparage . She should seek employment in a more woke environment .
Great so this will make it easier financially for individuals to open mosdos so no need to beg that much for your kids to be admitted to schools.
So let me get this right. This is considered a victory for the Frum community so the state can give the Yeshivot money with ALL strings attached? YAFFED must be partying now.
While this may be hailed as a victory, I worry that if tuition starts being funded by the government (if the states are eventually forced to comply)
States may use that as an opportunity to interfere with education. What if they say, oh we can’t give money unless the kids get an actual “education”
And then proceed to define education according to their own views
Wonder if Y.U. can leverage this somehow. No idea.
So, Conservative Americans will have no problems with supporting Muslim Schools as well
Schools will always find a way to make you pay.
2 of the 3 “dissenters” are Jews of course and the 3rd is a unqualified affirmative action hiree.
whatever the government pays for, albeit with involuntarily confiscated tax dollars, they then control. this is NEVER a good thing.
I don’t want to pay for Muslim schools. It’s bad enough having to pay for the atheists.
I agree with AOC and Bob Casey. It’s time to pack the courts. We can’t allow these racist white males to dominate us.
Just remember as a historian explained, “If we get money so do the Muslims and if they stay out of our schools (the current fight in NY) it’s the same for the Muslim schools.”
Is it worth some free money to have schools teaching vicious Anti-Israel and Antisemitic rhetoric?