Faith & Freedom Coalition Applauds SCOTUS Decision to Defend Religious Schools’ Right to Public Funding

DULUTH, Ga. – The Faith & Freedom Coalition applauds the Supreme Court’s recent decision to permit religious schools to access the same public funding that non-religious schools do. A 2015 Montana program supported donations to private, nonprofit scholarship organizations by granting individuals and businesses tax credits of up to $150 to match these donations. The Montana State Department of Revenue enacted a rule preventing students who received these scholarship funds from spending them on tuition at religious schools.

Several mothers who needed this financial support to send their children to a non-denominational Christian school took legal action against the department on the grounds that the rule infringed on the First Amendment. After the Montana Supreme Court sided with the Department of Revenue, the case went to the Supreme Court. Chief Justice John Roberts authored the majority opinion, recognizing that the rule did indeed infringe on the First Amendment by “bar[ing] religious schools from public benefits solely because of the religious character of the schools.”

“In a time when religious liberty is increasingly under attack, the majority opinion that came of the Supreme Court today is a breath of fresh air,” said Timothy Head, executive director of the Faith & Freedom Coalition. “Arbitrarily barring parents from sending their child to the school that suits his or her unique educational needs or religious beliefs shows a profound disregard for America’s constitutionally guaranteed liberties. We applaud SCOTUS for recognizing this terrible violation of the First Amendment and celebrate the courage these mothers showed in advocating for their children.”

The Faith & Freedom Coalition works to promote the values of liberty at the state and federal levels. To learn more about the Faith & Freedom Coalition, visit https://www.ffcoalition.com.

About the Faith & Freedom Coalition

The Faith and Freedom Coalition is a national grassroots movement of over 2 million conservatives and people of faith in support of time-honored values, stronger families, and individual freedom. Learn more about Faith & Freedom at www.ffcoalition.com.