US High Court Says Religious Schools Can Get Public Money

US High Court Says Religious Schools Can Get Public Money

The U.S. Supreme¹ Court ruled Tuesday that the state of Maine may not bar religious schools from a tuition assistance program.

The case involved a rule of Maine's Department of Education. The rule permits families who live in areas that do not have public schools to receive public money to send their children to a public or private school of their choosing. That program, however, bars the money from going to religious schools.

Families that want to send their children to religious schools say the law violates their religious rights.

In a 6-3 decision, the high court ruled that the Maine program violates the Constitution's protections for religious freedoms. Writing for the majority, Chief Justice John Roberts wrote, "The State pays tuition for certain students at private schools — so long as the schools are not religious. That is discrimination against religion."

The court's three liberal justices disagreed with the majority decision. "This Court continues to dismantle² the wall of separation between church and state that the Framers fought to build," Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote.

The ruling is the latest in a line of decisions from the Supreme Court that have favored religion-based discrimination claims. The court is separately looking at the case of a football coach who says he has a First Amendment³ right to pray at midfield immediately after games.

The court's decision on Tuesday immediately affects Maine and Vermont, a neighboring state with a similar program. But the ruling could also fuel a renewed push for school choice programs in some of the states that have so far not directed public money to private, religious education.

In the Maine case, two families wanted to send their children to Christian⁴ schools in Bangor and Waterville. The schools, Bangor Christian School and Temple Academy, have said in court records that they do not accept gay, lesbian or transgender students and teachers.

At the time, Maine officials said that religious schools are excluded from the program "because the education they provide is not equivalent to" public education.

The lawsuit⁵ was filed last year following a Supreme Court ruling saying that a Missouri program was wrong to deny money to a religious school for fixing a playground. That ruling opened the door for more cases aimed at changing rules about religious schools and public money.

Last year, the Supreme Court ruled in a case from Montana that states do not have to permit public money to be used in private education. But they cannot keep religious schools out of such programs, once created.

Words in This Story

tuition –n. money that is paid to a school to study there

dismantle –v. to destroy something in an orderly way; to gradually cause something to come to an end

equivalent –adj. having the same value, use or meaning

file –v. to give a legal document to a court for consideration by legal officials

1 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

2 dismantle   

vt.拆开，拆卸；废除，取消

参考例句：

• He asked for immediate help from the United States to dismantle the warheads.他请求美国立即提供援助，拆除这批弹头。
• The mower firmly refused to mow,so I decided to dismantle it.修完后割草机还是纹丝不动，于是，我决定把它拆开。

3 amendment   

n.改正，修正，改善，修正案

参考例句：

• The amendment was rejected by 207 voters to 143.这项修正案以207票对143票被否决。
• The Opposition has tabled an amendment to the bill.反对党已经就该议案提交了一项修正条款。

4 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

5 lawsuit   

n.诉讼，控诉

参考例句：

• They threatened him with a lawsuit.他们以诉讼威逼他。
• He was perpetually involving himself in this long lawsuit.他使自己无休止地卷入这场长时间的诉讼。