U.S. Supreme Court Will Hear Montana School Choice Case

In early 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear one of the most important education reform cases in the past half century. The case, Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue, will decide if states may discriminate against religious options in generally available scholarship programs. The U.S. Supreme Court already ruled in 2002 that allowing such options is permissible under the federal Constitution.

The question now is whether the state can exclude such options. The case was accepted by the High Court after the Montana Supreme Court struck down that state’s new scholarship tax-credit program in 2018 under its state constitution solely because some of the children receiving scholarships attend religious schools.

The Institute for Justice (IJ) appealed the decision on behalf of three parents and their children who wish to use the scholarships to attend a Christian school in Kalispell, Montana, arguing that the Montana Supreme Court’s decision violates the Free Exercise, Equal Protection and Establishment Clauses of the U.S. Constitution. The case will be argued in early 2020 and a decision will be announced by the end of June 2020.

https://ij.org/case/montana-school-choice/
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