Term
| Pierce v. Society of Sisters 1925 |
|
Definition
| Kids in Oregon mandated to attend public school. Court found the mandate unconstitutional. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Is the purchase of textbooks that are then distributed to private sectarian schools constitutional? The court found that the children and the state are the beneficiaries thus the practice does not violate the constitution. |
|
|
Term
| Everson v. Board of Education 1947 |
|
Definition
A New Jersey law allowed reimbursements of money to parents who sent their children to school on public transit. The taxpayer who brought the case contended that reimbursement violated the constitutional prohibition against state support of religion.
A divided court held that the law did not violate the constitution. It was simply a law enacted as a "general program" to assist parents of all religions with getting their children to school. |
|
|
Term
| Board of Education v. Allen 1968 |
|
Definition
Do the Establishment and Free Exercie clauses forbid New York from requiring that public school boards loan textbooks to parochial school students without cost?
NO - In a 6-3 decision, the Court found that because the stated legislative purpose and necessary effects of the statute did not advance any one religion or religion in general. |
|
|
Term
| Committee for Public Education v. Nyquist 1973 |
|
Definition
Did sections 1-5 of chapter 414 of New York's education and tax laws violate the establishment and free exercise clauses?
Yes - The court held that the maintenance and repair and tuition reimbursement provisions and the tax benefit provision benefit violated the constitution b/c their effect, inevitably, was to subsidize and advance the religious mission of sectarian schools. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
The state of PA provided financial support to nonpublic elem & second schools by reimbursing the cost of salaries, books & instructional materials.
The court 8-0 determined that the assistance was unconstitutional.
Significance - the decision instituted the Lemon test for analyzing statutes relating to church-state interaction. |
|
|
Term
| Tilton v. Richardson 1971 |
|
Definition
The Federal Higher Ed Facility Act of '63 gave construction grants to church sponsored higher ed institutes.
After 20 yrs the building could be used for any purpose.
The court 5-4 decided the grants did not violate the establishment clause b/c the intent was to include all colleges and univ regardless of affiliation with religious body.
The court decided 8-1 the 20 yr stipulation was unconstitutional. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
The South Carolina Educational Facilities Act provided for an authority to review proposals for educational facilities and approve the issuance of revenue bonds.
A taxpayer brought suit due to an approved proposal from a Baptist college.
The court found that the purpose of the Act was secular, there was no evidence of potential excessive entaglement. The Act was constitutional. |
|
|
Term
| Levitt v. Committee for Public Education 1973 |
|
Definition
NY legislature appropriated 28 mil to reimburse nonpublic school expenses related to compliance with state test administration and reporting costs.
The court held that the law violated the establishment clause b/c the religious and non-religious aspects of the services could not be differentiated. There was no supervision regarding the way the money was actually used. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
3 PA statues were challenged for violating the establishment clause:
textbooks purchased for students in private schools, the state offered remedial help for non-public students, schools were provided instructional materials.
The court permitted the purchase of textbooks but not instructional materials or special needs instructors. |
|
|
Term
| Roemer v. Board of Public Works of Maryland 1976 |
|
Definition
A Maryland statute allowed the issuance of monetary grants to private colleges and univ that did not offer only theological degrees.
The court permitted the issuance to non-public schools with the stipulation that the money only be spent on secular functions.
Significance: decision places much trust in the abilities of non-public univ to decide where the grants my be appropriately spent. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
A suit challenged the constitutionality of a series of benefits offered from Ohio to non-public schools:
textbooks, testing and scoring, special services (speech, remediation, etc.), field trip transportation.
The court allowed the textbooks, tests, and therapeutic & diagnostic services.
The state could not offer educationa materials or subsidize field trips. |
|
|
Term
| Committee for Public Education v. Regan 1980 |
|
Definition
NY statute allowing nonpublic schools to be reimbursed for the costs incurred in administering and reporting the results of state-mandated tests.
The court permitted NY plan to reimburse.
The reimbursement clearly has a secular purpose. The plan suggests no excessive entanglement. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
A Minnesota law allowed parents to deduct from their state income taxes any expenses from students attending school regardless of public or nonpublic.
The court was to decide whether this offered unconstitutional aid to religious schools.
The court 5-4 allowed the deductions. Lemon test was used. So long as the benefit to religious schools is INDIRECT the law does not violate. |
|
|
Term
| School District of Grand Rapids v. Ball 1985 |
|
Definition
The district offered shared time and community ed programs that involved the renting of nonpublic school classrooms with public expense to be used to instruct nonpublic students.
The court invalidated the programs b/c they had the primary effect of advancing religion. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
NY allowed the reimbursement of the salaries of pub employees who taught in parochial schools.
Although the court recognizes that the intent of the statute was secular, the POTENTIAL for religious advancement makes it unconstitutional. |
|
|
Term
| Witters v. Washington Department of Services for the Blind 1986 |
|
Definition
A blind student attending a Christian college in Washington who was studying to become a pastor applied to a state agency for rehab assistance consisting of payments for his education but he was denied b/c of establishment clause.
The court decided that state rehab aid payments to blind student for education held not to advance religion in manner inconsistent with establishment clause b/c of the fact that the money went to the indiv. not the institution directly.
the Court resolutely refused to see the grant as in any way a direct, or even a problematically indirect, support of a religious institution. |
|
|
Term
| Zobrest v. Catalina Foothills School District 1993 |
|
Definition
Parents of a deaf child sued the district after it failed to provide a sign language interpreter for their son who attended a Catholic school.
The court decided 5-4 to require the school district to offer the interpreter.
Again referencing the aid would have to be provided regardless of the choice of the parent to enroll in nonpublic school. |
|
|
Term
| Kiryas Joel Board of Education v. Grumet 1994 |
|
Definition
NY leg drew boundaries for a school district in accordance with village of Kiryas Joel-prodominately a Satmar Hasidim community.
6-3 decision of the court determined that the boundary was unconstitutionally drawn to include only those people who lived in the area occupied by the memebers of a religious group.
Doing so violates the NEUTRALITY requirement to which the govt must abide. |
|
|
Term
| Rosenberger v. Rector & Visitors of the University of Virginia 1995 |
|
Definition
UVA denied funding to a Christian student newspaper citing a univ policy to not provide univ aide to a religous org.
5-4 the court held that it was a violation of the 1st amend speech clause but not transgressory of the establishment clauses.
This was the first supreme court case holding that it was permissible to give direct financial aid to an org that was avowedly religious in its operation.
"limited public forum" was used - it was discrimination against the Christian viewpoint not to provide funds. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
NY parochial school board challenged district court's upholding of a 12 yr decision in Aguilar v. Felton that prohibited public school teachers from teaching in parochial schools.
5-4 court allowed public school teachers to tutor private school students in their private schools.
This decision reinforces the state's belief that the state can conduct pub prog in religious schools w/o becoming excessively entangled with the religion. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
A group of taxpayers sued regarding the Ed Cons and Improvement Act of '81 claiming the loaning of educational material & equip to private schools was a violation of the establishment clause.
6-3 decision the court ruled that it was permissible for loans to be made to religious schools in the manner of chp 2 of the Act. The court found them to not advance religion or excessively entangle.
Govt aid for religiously affiliated schools is not inconsistent with the establishment clause. This decision overruled portions of Meek v. Pittenger and Wolmen v. Walter. |
|
|
Term
| Zelman v. Simmons-Harris 2002 |
|
Definition
Ohio established the pilot prog to provide ed choices to families with children who reside in the Clevland City School District which paid tuition aid for students to attend their school of choice including private sectarian.
5-4 the court reversed both of the lower courts decisions the court held that the program did not offend the establishment clause.
The program was a program of true private choice. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
WA established a scholarship program in order to assist students from low and middle income families w the cost of postsecondary education. The scholarship prog did not permit students to use the money to pursue a degree in theology.
A student who received the scholarship refused to certify that he was not pursuing such a degree and so did not receive the money.
The court reversed the state supreme court's judgement that the state's action violated the Free exercise clause.
The court held the scholarship program's exclusion with respect to students pursuing a degree in devotional theology did not violate the 1st amend free exercise clause. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
Three pronged test analyzing statues relating to church-state interaction:
1 - the statute must have secular legislative purpose.
2 - its principal effect must be one that neither advances or inhibits religion;
3 - the statute must not foster excessive government entanglement with religion. |
|
|
