The Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that Maine cannot exclude religious schools from a state tuition assistance program, the latest case signaling the conservative court’s shift on religious freedom and separation of church and state.
The 6-3 opinion, written by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., found the program unconstitutional because it provided vouchers that parents could spend at private or public schools but excluded schools with explicitly religious instruction. The Supreme Court found that Maine’s program violated the Free Exercise Clause in the First Amendment because it prohibits the schools from receiving an otherwise available benefit solely because of the schools’ religious nature.
“The State pays tuition for certain students at private schools — so long as the schools are not religious. That is discrimination against religion,” Roberts wrote.
