The Supreme Court has grappled in recent years with laws barring public funds from going to religious schools, but an upcoming case could give the court's conservative majority a new opportunity to tackle animus toward Catholics and private schools.
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So-called Blaine Amendments” in the constitutions of 36 states, including South Carolina, are named after Sen. James G. Blaine of Maine, the Republican nominee for president in 1884, seen here in an undated photo. The amendments prohibit the distribution of any government funds to “sectarian” schools. (Photo: Corbis/Getty Images)
Commentary By
John G. Malcolm is the vice president of the Institute for Constitutional Government and director of the Edwin Meese III Center for Legal and Judicial Studies, overseeing The Heritage Foundation’s work to increase understanding of the Constitution and the rule of law. Read his research.
Sarah Parshall Perry is a legal fellow in the Edwin Meese III Center for Legal and Judicial Studies at The Heritage Foundation.
With American education turned upside down during the pandemic, the South Carolina Supreme Court barred Gov. Henry McMaster from distributing any of the funds that the state had received under the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act to private and religious schools.