The Supreme Court opened the door Tuesday to more state financial support for religious schools, ruling that it’s unconstitutional for taxpayer-funded scholarship programs to exclude faith-based institutions.
The justices ruled 5-4 that preventing students at private, religious schools from receiving publicly funded scholarships amounts to religious discrimination. These students must be treated the same as students at other private facilities, they said.
“A state need not subsidize private education. But once a state decides to do so, it cannot disqualify some private schools solely because they are religious,” wrote Chief Justice John Roberts in the majority opinion, which was joined by the court’s four other more conservative justices.
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