Los Angeles Times The Supreme Court may be poised to require states to subsidize religious schools if they provide financial support for other private schools, poking another hole in the “wall of separation between church and state” described by Thomas Jefferson as central to the First Amendment. On Wednesday, the court heard arguments in a case brought by a group of parents of children who attend religious schools in Montana. The parents had challenged a Montana Supreme Court decision that ended a program under which taxpayers could receive a tax credit of up to $150 for donations to provide scholarships for children to attend private schools, including religious schools. The Montana court held that the inclusion of religious schools in the program violated a provision in the Montana Constitution — similar to language in many other state constitutions — prohibiting “any direct or indirect appropriation or payment from any public fund or monies” to any school that is “controlled in whole or in part by any church, sect, or denomination.” The court then invalidated the entire program. Questions by conservative Supreme Court justices on Wednesday suggested that they disagreed with the Montana court and thought that its ruling violated […]
