WASHINGTON, D.C. – In a sweeping decision that dramatically boosts the school voucher movement, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on June 27 that a Cleveland program providing financial aid to low-income families for private school tuition does not violate the constitutional separation of church and state.
By upholding the Cleveland program, in which approximately 96 percent of voucher recipients attend parochial schools, the Supreme Court expands the forms of government aid that can be provided to religious schools. Until now, there has been considerable doubt that a school voucher program providing funds to religious schools – even indirectly – would pass constitutional muster.
