美国国家公共电台 NPR--Supreme Court rules Maine tuition assistance program must cover religious schools

Supreme¹ Court rules Maine tuition assistance program must cover religious schools

Transcript²

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6-3 along ideological³ lines that Maine's tuition assistance program must cover religious schools.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

The Supreme Court is out with a ruling this morning on taxpayer⁴ money and religious schools. It ruled 6 to 3 that if a state uses taxpayer money to pay for students attending nonreligious private schools, it must also use taxpayer funds to pay for attendance at religious schools. For all practical purposes, the decision invalidates provisions in 37 state constitutions that ban the direct or indirect use of taxpayer money in religious schools. Joining us now is NPR's legal affairs correspondent Nina Totenberg. Hi, Nina.

NINA TOTENBERG, BYLINE⁵: Hi there.

FADEL: So what is the background of this case?

TOTENBERG: This is a case from Maine, which is the most rural state in the country, and it has - about half the school districts in the state - they're called unitary districts - don't have enough money to have public high schools. So they either send the kids to a nearby high school and contract with that public high school, or they pay the tuition at a private nonsectarian school. This case was brought by people who wanted the state to fund their children's tuition at a religious school. And the lower court said, no, you can't do that. And the Supreme Court said, oh, yes, you can, basically.

(LAUGHTER)

TOTENBERG: Writing for the court's conservative majority, Chief Justice John Roberts said that Maine's decision to exclude religious schools from its tuition assistance program promotes, quote, "stricter separation of church and state than the federal constitution requires." Maine's program is not what it claims, he says. It is not neutral because it, quote, "discriminates⁶ against religion."

FADEL: Now, this was 6 to 3 along ideological lines. What did the dissenters⁸ say?

TOTENBERG: Well, Justice Breyer wrote the principal dissent⁷, and then Justice Sotomayor added because she said she couldn't sort of believe her eyes in the last few years. This court continues to dismantle⁹ the wall of separation between church and state that the framers sought to build, she said. The consequences of the court's rapid transformation¹⁰ of the religion clauses must not be understated.

FADEL: So real concern about the separation...

TOTENBERG: Yeah.

FADEL: ...Of church and state there. What does the court's decision actually do?

TOTENBERG: Well, theoretically, it greatly expands state aid to religious schools or has the potential to do that. For decades, the court deferred¹¹ to state constitutions, and those constitutions in the majority of states said you can't have aid to religious schools, and the court's own doctrine¹² suggested that. But in recent years, conservative court majorities have upheld state voucher¹³ programs for religious schools and other programs that use tax benefits and other mechanisms¹⁴ to facilitate attendance at religious schools. In the Maine case, the court majority has gone much further, declaring that when a state provides benefits to a nonreligious private school, it has to provide the same benefits to a religious school.

FADEL: So what does that do in Maine, then, and elsewhere?

TOTENBERG: Well, I imagine it's going to be quite a mess in Maine. It won't happen right away 'cause the Legislature isn't even in session until September. The only - this decision actually affects Maine and Vermont, the only two states that have programs like this. But in Maine, the state could - has various options. It could pay only public school tuition, only contract with public schools. It's possible that the large private school academies - there are 11 of them, and most of them have been around for generations and generations - they could, I suppose, become charter schools.

FADEL: NPR's Nina Totenberg. Thank you so much.

TOTENBERG: Thank you.

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 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 ideological   

a.意识形态的

参考例句：

• He always tries to link his study with his ideological problems. 他总是把学习和自己的思想问题联系起来。
• He helped me enormously with advice on how to do ideological work. 他告诉我怎样做思想工作，对我有很大帮助。

4 taxpayer   

n.纳税人

参考例句：

• The new scheme will run off with a lot of the taxpayer's money.这项新计划将用去纳税人许多钱。
• The taxpayer are unfavourably disposed towards the recent tax increase.纳税者对最近的增加税收十分反感。

5 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

6 discriminates   

分别，辨别，区分( discriminate的第三人称单数 )； 歧视，有差别地对待

参考例句：

• The new law discriminates against lower-paid workers. 这条新法律歧视低工资的工人。
• One test governs state legislation that discriminates against interstate commerce. 一个检验约束歧视州际商业的州立法。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

7 dissent   

n./v.不同意，持异议

参考例句：

• It is too late now to make any dissent.现在提出异议太晚了。
• He felt her shoulders gave a wriggle of dissent.他感到她的肩膀因为不同意而动了一下。

8 dissenters   

n.持异议者，持不同意见者( dissenter的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He attacked the indulgence shown to religious dissenters. 他抨击对宗教上持不同政见者表现出的宽容。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• (The dissenters would have allowed even more leeway to the Secretary.) （持异议者还会给行政长官留有更多的余地。） 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法

9 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。

10 transformation   

n.变化；改造；转变

参考例句：

• Going to college brought about a dramatic transformation in her outlook.上大学使她的观念发生了巨大的变化。
• He was struggling to make the transformation from single man to responsible husband.他正在努力使自己由单身汉变为可靠的丈夫。

11 deferred   

adj.延期的，缓召的v.拖延，延缓，推迟( defer的过去式和过去分词 )；服从某人的意愿，遵从

参考例句：

• The department deferred the decision for six months. 这个部门推迟了六个月才作决定。
• a tax-deferred savings plan 延税储蓄计划

12 doctrine   

n.教义；主义；学说

参考例句：

• He was impelled to proclaim his doctrine.他不得不宣扬他的教义。
• The council met to consider changes to doctrine.宗教议会开会考虑更改教义。

13 voucher   

n.收据；传票；凭单，凭证

参考例句：

• The government should run a voucher system.政府应该施行凭证制度。
• Whenever cash is paid out,a voucher or receipt should be obtained.无论何时只要支付现金，就必须要有一张凭据或者收据。

14 mechanisms   

n.机械( mechanism的名词复数 )；机械装置；[生物学] 机制；机械作用

参考例句：

• The research will provide direct insight into molecular mechanisms. 这项研究将使人能够直接地了解分子的机理。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He explained how the two mechanisms worked. 他解释这两台机械装置是如何工作的。 来自《简明英汉词典》