The Supreme Court announced Friday it would hear a school choice case out of Maine considering tuition assistance for religious schools.
Two families challenged a bar on using Maine’s tuition assistance for high school students attending sectarian schools.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit had upheld Maine’s policy, which allows students to attend private or public schools in or out of the state so long as they are not deemed “sectarian.”
According to court papers, the tuition can’t be used at a school that promotes faith in addition to teaching students on academic subjects.
In similar challenges, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th and 10th Circuits have struck down such policies as unconstitutional.
“By singling out religion — and only religion — for exclusion from its tuition assistance program, Maine violates the U.S. Constitution,” said Michael Bindas, a senior attorney at the Institute for Justice, which is representing the families. “The state flatly bans parents from choosing schools that offer religious instruction. That is unconstitutional.”
Maine Attorney General Aaron M. Frey said the state will vigorously defend the lawsuit, adding that religious schools are excluded because the “education they provide is not equivalent to a public education.”
He said religious schools can advance their faith and discriminate in how they hire teachers.
“Parents are free to send their children to such schools if they choose, but not with public dollars. I am confident that the Supreme Court will recognize that nothing in the Constitution requires Maine to include religious schools in its public education system,” Mr. Frey said.
• Alex Swoyer can be reached at aswoyer@washingtontimes.com.
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