Today Tuesday 30th, 2020, the supreme court ruled in favor of parents in Montana seeking to use a state scholarship program to send their children to religious schools. The Montana tax credit program that directed money to private schools could not exclude religious schools. says the court.
Chief Justice John Roberts penned the 5-4 ruling and joined by the court’s four conservative justices. ”A State need not subsidize private education.
Roberts wrote in the majority opinion once a State decides to do so, it cannot disqualify some private schools solely because they are religious, ”. Tuesday’s opinion is a huge win for supporters of school choice programs, a hallmark of the Trump administration, and it will also encourage other states to push for similar programs.
The ruling comes as the supporters of religious liberty, including the Trump administration, have hoped the court’s solidified conservative majority would emphasize that the Constitution’s Free Exercise clause requires neutrality toward religion. Three low-income mothers had sought to use the funds from a state initiative for their kids’ religious education. Roberts’ opinion on Tuesday reflects his traditional conservative instincts on religious dilemmas and breaks his recent pattern of his joining the court’s four liberals all of whom disagreed on Tuesday on social policy issues.
