End the subsidy of religion! If you're a Christian school, you shouldn't be able to use the roads for your school transportation, or rely on local police when your students are in danger. Separation of church and state means that churches should be actively excluded from public life and punished!
Oh FFS! I don't want my tax dollars paying for students to go to private religious schools.
This is why Trump's legacy will last for generations, he's stack the courts (note the plural) with young ultra-liberals.
@MomT
The question (as I understand it) is if states subsidize private schools, can they discriminate against religious schools. I would think a reasonable approach would be to either allow funding for all private schools or none at all. That seems fair; the state isn't forcing anyone to participate in any religion, just treating people with religious views the same as those who do not follow an organized religion.
So another constitutional boundary falls.
I want to again thank those who stayed home in 2016. You let this happen. 2 Supreme Court justices since then. They will make these kinds of decisions for decades.
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The major question in this case seems to me to be one of whether the State's administration of this program funded by private donations is necessary or even desirable.
The contributors and parents of students benefitting from this program are capable of administering that program themselves. If the State's participation is not necessary, then the question of whether the state statute violates the Free Exercise Clause of the US Constitution seems peripheral ... if not illogical. (That misstep then triggers the next unnecessary question -- whether state administration violates the Establishment Clause.)
Montana acted appropriately in shutting down this program and removing a whirlwind of duelling lawsuits.
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@Sequel
The part I think you are missing is that people are supporting the public system while sending their children to private schools. Vouchers would provide low income parents the ability to send their children to schools that might be better situated to assist their children in breaking the poverty barrier. Reasonable people can disagree, but I think competition is a great thing; it will help make our education system better.
@Bill According to news reports, the funding is predominantly going to religious schools. That makes sense, since the funding is provided by contributors who support religious schools.
It is irrelevant whether an ancillary benefit to low-income populations is received. It is just as easy for tuition contributors to low-income students to organize themselves as it is for those who contribute to students seeking religious education. And there would be less red tape and fewer rules.
The Supreme Court is struggling to disguise unlawful acts. It’s a shame and weakens society by assisting the spread of division between Americans over dogmas that cannot be reconciled. That division is fine with the Court if it makes its majority’s view paramount and helps squelch the rest.
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Why not Truth in advertising? Call these “ Schools “ exactly what they are: a gated community for White Kids.
Period.
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@Phyliss Dalmatian
Not true; look at the Catholic schools in Chicago for example. The racial makeup of those schools mirror the racial makeup of the city.
School choice helps poor people do what middle class and rich families do today; gain access to better private schools. Why discriminate against poor, inner city minority families? Shouldn't they benefit from school competition?
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Ushered into office by extremists, of course they will reshape our laws according to their extremist views. The con job that’s been perpetrated on the America public that these people are “originalists” or even “conservative” has been unmasked as effective propaganda. Why it wasn’t clear all along is a mystery. These are political figures through and through.
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Prediction: Alito will write the majority opinion.
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Conservatives would like nothing more than to instill Christianity as the national religion, and are using the stacked Supreme Court to slowly but surely create that reality.
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@Jeff
Not so; we just want religious schools (of all types) to have the same rights as other private schools. Have you any evidence of anyone advocating for making Christianity the national religion? I haven't.
No! We already heavily subsidize the religious entertainment industry thru their tax exemptions.
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Let’s say my local mosque decides to open a school. I wonder if the proponents of this measure are as interested in Muslim schoolchildren benefiting from such a program? The cynic is me thinks not so much, sadly.This is what public funds should not be in any way used for private (religious) education.
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@Elle
The proponents are arguing that very point; all private schools, should be treated alike. There shouldn't be a religious test (of any kind) either way.
If the religious schools want to receive public money they should also be bound by same anti discrimination laws as public schools. That goes for students and employees. There should be no religious exemption for bigotry towards LGBT and their healthcare plans should cover contraceptives. They should also be required to accept the disabled, those who don't speak English, and intellectually challenged like public schools. They want our tax dollar they should have to play by the same rules. Don't want to pay by the same rules? No tax dollars.
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Current social & political polarization on America is basically due to 2 reasons. And those are interconnected and both started around late 1970s to early 1980s (Reagan era) in modern US history.
1) Crony capitalism. Systemic destruction of Govt oversight to help big corporations & rich businessmen & executives. Globalization also designed mainly to help these people as shown by worsening wealth & income inequality almost all over the world after globalization.
2) Growing Influence of religion- in both public education & government/politics. Religion also feeds racism.
A major reason for many, probably most, polarizing issues in USA (and many other countries now being ruled by right wing parties) actually arise from religion imposed or religion inspired (destruction of ) education. Most of the people affected got a very different understanding of truth & justice, which are not much based on science/fact/logic. Naturally, they are far easier to exploit by both politicians and greedy corrupt businessmen to make fool of. That's also why so many utter nonsense conspiracy theories get so much support among so many Americans.
Although religion is so widely misused in various democracies, global directors don't always use it. Sometimes they replace it with their political ideologies based on fairy-tales & lies, e.g. like communism. But it's just like religious bigotry but in opposite direction.
We must stop it if we want a better, more civilized & prosperous nation.
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Current sociopolitical polarization of America is basically due to 2 reasons. And those are interconnected and both started around late 1970s to early 1980s (Reagan era) in modern US history.
1) Crony capitalism. Systemic destruction of Govt oversight to help big corporations & rich businessmen & executives. Globalization also designed mainly to help these people/companies as shown by worsening wealth & income inequality.
2) Growing Influence of religion- in both public education, public policy, and politics. Religion also feeds racism.
A major reason for many, probably most, polarizing issues (from abortion to climate change) in USA (& many other countries, ruled by right wing politicians) actually arise from religion inspired (destruction of ) education. Most of the people affected got a very distorted perception of truth & justice, which are not much based on science, fact, or logic. Naturally, they are far easier to exploit by both politicians and greedy corrupt businessmen to make fool of. That's also why so many utter nonsense conspiracy theories get so much support among so many Americans.
Although religion is so widely misused in various democracies, global directors don't always use it. Sometimes they replace it with their political ideologies based on fairy-tales & lies, e.g. like communism. But it's just like religious bigotry but in opposite direction.
We must stop it if we want a better, more civilized & prosperous nation.
I went to a Catholic elementary school in the 1950s, when many of the nuns would tell us that devils were everywhere (although they were invisible). One horrible nun told us that the communists were going to march into our school one day and that we’d all be murdered! Tell that to an impressionable kid! Definitely good that state and religion were separated.
About 30 years ago, we sent our firstborn son to a Catholic school from kindergarten through second grade. It was one of the few schools at the time that offered full-day kindergarten, a must for working parents.
The teachers (all laypeople) were excellent, but they did spend a fair amount of time talking about the religion. He later went to an excellent Catholic prep school for his freshman year. Religious beliefs were interwoven into the every day fabric of the school.
Based on my experience, I strongly believe that the separation of school and state is one of the cornerstones of our democracy.
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@Banjokatt
It isn't the "separation of school and state", it is the separation of state and religion. The intent isn't to discriminate against any religion or non-religion. The amendment was intended to prevent a state religion (as exists in England for example). The question for the court is can the state discriminate against one type of private school (AKA religious). it is clearly (IMO) discriminatory to say the state will allow tax money to go to a private school that is non-religious and not allow it to apply to a religious school. That isn't separating the state from religion, it is discriminating against people BECAUSE of their religious beliefs. From my perspective I hope the SCOTUS makes it clear this is impermisable. The state doesn't need to help private schools (although I think there is value in doing that), but if it does it needs to do so in a fair and evenhanded way.
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If schools offered by religious entities are receiving taxpayer money, they should be considered taxable entities even if the "church" is exempt. If they are tied together they are not schools, they are part of the indoctrination ministry in the church. They cannot have it both ways. Similarly, they cannot discriminate in hiring and employment contracts, such as requiring employees to be part of the faith or at least pledging to act as a believer subject to termination if outside life is found to be objectionable to those who determine what the faith is supposed to look like.
Finally, schools with taxpayer support should not be able to require entrance testing to qualify to attend.
The current mess of taxpayer subsidies in many areas going to religious-based schools is siphoning funds from public or public charter schools, without accountability for how funds are being used and whether any discrimination exists. Governments provide an education option, therefore claiming violation because a private religious school does not receive tax money to lower cost is a false flag.
Too bad the packed Supreme Court appears to about ready to open the floodgates to effectively wipe out public schools.
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Granting some government aid to religious schools would be a slippery slope that could undo the separation of church and state principle.
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There is no such principle as ‘separation of church and state’. The constitution mandates that the government cannot establish a religion nor prohibit the free exercise of religion. This Montana program does neither therefore it is constitutional.
It seems that, if SCOTUS affirms the right of religious institutions who "support" their brand of private education, public education will be headed back to the years when education was mostly limited to white boys who had wealthy parents. While I'm sure many, if not most, parents who send their children to private religious schools think their tax dollars should defray costs of their religious decisions, i.e., schools. That's fine, but many other taxpayers don't want their tax dollars supporting religious schools that they don't agree with so it's best that no religious school receive taxpayer funds.
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@Oh brother Have you considered that parents who send their kids to private schools also have to subsidize kids in public schools while deferring any personal benefit. Parents who send their kids to religious schools get NO tax break - last I checked, I cannot deduct the expense of my religious school tuition from my taxes. The equitable choice is for individuals to be able to opt out of public school if that district refuses to given them adequate services (like for me, special needs services). My public school district refused to help my child - should I be forced to support them with my tax dollars. I see you feel strongly about the use of your tax dollars, but have no problem with wasting mine.
@Bernie looks the other way...too much
You don't have to send your kids to private school. But if you do...I don't want to pay for it. I have no children and live in a great school district. My tax dollars support this district and benefits the neighborhood and society. If tax money starts to go to religious schools, I will stop paying taxes and take it to the SC
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" ... stop short of requiring state support for religious education in other contexts ... " Here in Texas, evangelical Christians get elected to the State board Of Education (SBOE), then push for creationism (or its code name: intelligent design) to be taught in public classrooms. Civic, non-religious meetings are started with a Christian prayer, and if you protest, "you can leave". The USA is a secular country, we need to keep it that way.
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What part of separation between church and state is so difficult to understand? I do not understand how or why this is even being considered. Whatever the justices personal religious views are or are not--they should have no bearing on this and yet....here we are.
And, if this is allowed, it had better be allowed for all religious schools, including Muslim-based or whatever religion that a school practices.
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I think this is just another small step toward religious schools and other religious organizations being able to get tax money and keep their tax free status.
What happens when the first mosque asks for the same treatment?
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They are already getting subsidized with their tax free status. Yes reduced taxes is a subsidy, money from the general pool, usually coming from the middle classes and lower to reduce their subsidies.
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This Supreme Court seems determined to undo the separation between church and state. I do not want my taxes going to any religious or charter schools. If folks don’t want to send their kids to a public school they can do so without any tax money. Public schools are essential to education and help with the integration of society. We should do everything possible to support public schools and ensure that every child has the opportunity they deserve.
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@EJ Please read the article. It is literally not tax dollars...not a penny of taxes you pay is at stake. This is about a scholarship funded by private contributions. What makes these amounts "public" is that they are not taxed. People make charitable contributions to fund the scholarship and these amounts are not included in their taxable income. The question is can individuals make tax-deductible donations to a scholarship that funds religious education. If you cite the Constitution and the separation of Church and state, you must also cite (and recognize) the Constitution's free exercise clause which protects individuals' expression of religious faith which includes where they donate. There are plenty of non-secular scholarship programs out there that provide tax credits. Religious schools are equally beneficial to our society. It is a question of equity and fairness.
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@Bernie looks the other way...too much
Actually, tax-exemptions, say for pension plans and non-profits, are and always have been regarded as tax expenditures. That's why the Internal Revenue Code forces individuals to take distributions from tax-deferred accounts, like 401(k) plans or defined benefit pension plans. If you were right, this case wouldn't gotten passed the pleading stage. Tax-exemptions are universally regarded as tax expenditures.
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Tax credits on contributions/scholarship to a religious school are taxes not being received by the public coffers. By default, the public is assisting the funding of students choosing to attend a religious school.
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