SCOTUS: Big Win for Religious Freedom and School Choice!
Today we are relieved that the U.S. Supreme Court in Espinoza v. Montana Dept. of Revenue has reaffirmed what should have always been clear within our Constitution - that governments cannot punish the free exercise of religion or exclude religious organizations simply because of their religious character.
With today's decision, state legislatures have been put on notice that they cannot pass policies that discriminate against families who wish to provide a faith-based education for their children, nor against the schools they attend. The Court also noted with disdain the role anti-Catholic bigotry played in the creation of “Blaine Amendments” in many state laws and Constitutions.
The dispute in the case was over Montana’s scholarship tax credit program that enables taxpayers to take deductions for donations to scholarship organizations, which can then be accessed by qualifying lower-income families to make it possible for them to send their child to a private school of their choice. Virginia has a similar program, and it has been a huge success in giving parents more educational options, and now serves over 4,000 children statewide. Montana, however, specifically excluded all religious schools from being able to receive any of those funds (even though most private schools are faith-based), citing the need for a “separation of church and state.”
Chief Justice Roberts wrote the 5-4 opinion, holding that “the no-aid provision discriminated against religious schools and the families whose children attend or hope to attend them in violation of the Free Exercise Clause of the Federal Constitution.” The Court reaffirmed that the “Free Exercise Clause ‘protects religious observers against unequal treatment’ and against ‘laws that impose special disabilities on the basis of religious status.’” How very refreshing to hear!
Another very encouraging statement was made by Justice Gorsuch in his concurring opinion: "The First Amendment protects religious uses and actions for good reason. What point is it to tell a person that he is free to be Muslim but he may be subject to discrimination for doing what his religion commands[?] ... The right to be religious without the right to do religious things would hardly amount to a right at all." This is all the more encouraging when considering that Justice Gorsuch authored last week's majority opinion in the Bostock case, which redefined "sex" in a way that could seemingly force many religious Americans, churches, and organizations to violate their beliefs.
Today's decision was fundamentally about ensuring actual fairness in educational opportunities and the free expression of diverse beliefs, not just the ones that align with the government's views. When that happens, everyone wins.
One of the major implications of this decision for Virginia is that it appears to topple our state Blaine Amendment (which is virtually identical to Montana’s), the state constitutional provision that bars all state funds from going directly or indirectly to religious entities. This opens the door for the long-time thwarted policy concept that would set aside education expenses for every child, whose parents could then decide where to use it in directing their child’s education instead of only having the state’s default option.
In a flurry of bad news and disturbing opinions lately, we are thankful for this decision as a good and needed victory
