Conflicting federal district court rulings in two New England circuits could set up a Supreme Court showdown over just how far states can go in allocating taxpayer funds to religious schools in towns lacking public schools.
Religious instruction a bridge too far for tuition assistance
Friday, February 19, 2021 |
Bob Kellogg (OneNewsNow.com)
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Some parents in Maine are appealing to the U.S. Supreme Court in a case where the state is refusing to provide student aid because they are sending their daughter to a religious school that provides religious instruction.
Maine provides tuition assistance for high school students families that live in areas without a public secondary school. Two families in that situation are suing because they have been denied assistance on the grounds the schools must be nonsectarian.
Institute for Justice attorney Michael Bindas explains that the First U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against them.
The U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C. (Elena Paredes/Facebook)
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Concerned parents are bringing their case of religious discrimination before the U.S. Supreme Court after a lower court ruled students at religious schools will not qualify for educational benefits.
The ruling by the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals says students in Maine will only qualify for educational benefits when attending a school that does not provide religious instruction, CBN News reports.
Parents in small town Maine have been paid to send their children to a school of their choosing public or private since 1973.
PORTLAND, Maine Three families demanding that the state pay tuition for religious schools are taking their appeal to a U.S. Supreme Court that looks much different than when the lawsuit was filed more than two years ago.The conservative shift of the.
Maine ban on funding religious tuition goes to U.S. Supreme Court
So far, courts have sided with the state, which contends using taxpayer dollars to fund religious education violates the separation of church and state.
By DAVID SHARPAssociated Press
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A man holds a cross as he prays prior to rulings on religious school issues outside the Supreme Court in Washington on July 8, 2020. AP Photo/Patrick Semansky
Three families demanding that the state pay tuition for religious schools are taking their appeal to a U.S. Supreme Court that looks much different than when the lawsuit was filed more than two years ago.