Last year, in Zelman v. Simmons-Harris, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that public money could cover tuition costs for children at private schools. Now, the Court is being asked to rule on whether tax dollars can cover scholarships, textbooks, and other types of aid for the study of religion in higher ed institutions. At stake is Washington state's "Promise Scholarships," which cover tuition and other costs for low-income, high-achieving high school graduates at Washington universities. Joshua Davey qualified for one, but was denied when he decided to study pastoral ministries at a religious college. State officials said that Washington law forbids public aid to religious schools, basing their decision on the state's "Blaine Amendment," one of a series passed in the late 19th century to force Catholic children into largely Protestant public schools. The setting for this case is college, but the ruling will have far-reaching implications for K-12 education, since Colorado's Blaine Amendment has already been invoked in a suit challenging their new voucher law and the outcome of that suit may determine whether other Blaine states will be able to pursue voucher programs. [For more on Colorado's program, go to http://www.edexcellence.net/gadfly/issue.cfm?issue=17#226.]
"Justices again asked to draw church-state line," by David G. Savage, Los Angeles Times, May 19, 2003
"Rights coalition files suit over Colorado vouchers law," by Michael A. Fletcher, The Washington Post, May 21, 2003