Swing Vote Likely To Decide Religious School Choice Case

(From Nonprofit Quarterly)  The outcome of one of the most highly anticipated Supreme Court hearings on public funding of religious schools appears to hinge on the vote of Chief Justice John Roberts, according to Carol Levine, a nonprofit consultant. The case, Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue, seeks to overturn a Montana Supreme Court ruling that prohibited money from a voucher program to be put toward private religious schools, consistent with the state’s nearly five-decade ban on state aid for religious purposes. 

Supporters of such funding argue that the government should not be allowed to discriminate against religious families and schools, while the four liberal appointees warn that requiring the government to allow public funds to be used for religious schools could harm public education. If Chief Justice Roberts joins with the liberal justices,  the case could be dismissed on the grounds that the plaintiffs do not have standing. If the case remains active for the Court to deliberate, and the Chief Justice joins with the conservatives on the Court, it is likely to be on very narrow grounds, as Roberts seemed to agree that a decision mandating public funding of private schools would be untenable. 

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