Speaking of the First Amendment: Religious Schools Already Meet SCOTUS Precedents

​Protect The 1st has long advocated school choice, from secular schools that concentrate on STEM and the arts, to religiously based schools, as an important way for parents to express their First Amendment rights across generations.

Michael J. Broyde, Emory University law professor, writes in The Wall Street Journal that the Supreme Court has held in precedents ranging from Espinoza v. Montana Department of Education (2020) to Carson v. Makin (2022) that if a state funds private education, it cannot exclude religious schools.

Broyde wrote:

“Critics will worry that directly funding religious schools compromises the separation of church and state. But as the Supreme Court has clarified, public money can follow the student – even into religious settings – as long as the funding program is neutral with respect to religion, and the choice of school is made independently by parents.”
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The inclusion of religious schools, like Oklahoma’s St. Isidore Virtual Catholic School, is an important way to promote a thriving, pluralistic, First Amendment society.

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