Supreme Court Endorses Some Aid to Parents of Religious School Students

On June 30, 2020, the United States Supreme Court ruled in a 5–4 decision that a scholarship program enacted by Montana’s state legislature, which denied funds for use in religious schools, was an unconstitutional restriction on the free exercise of religion. This decision will allow religious schools, at least in some cases, to benefit from financial aid made available to all other kinds of schools.

Montana’s scholarship program

In 2015, Montana’s state legislature sought “to provide pa­rental and student choice in education” by enacting a schol­arship program for students attending private schools. The program grants a tax credit of up to $150 to any taxpayer who donates to a par­ticipating “student scholarship organization.” The scholarship organizations then use the donations to award scholarships to children for tuition at a ...