Kendra Espinoza in her Kalispell home Jan. 14, 2020. Espinoza’s family is front and center in the case before the U.S. Supreme Court, which will decide whether states like Montana can exclude religious schools from school choice programs. Wednesday, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments both for and against the Montana Supreme Court’s decision to shut down a school choice program it said violated the state constitution’s ban on public money flowing to religious schools. The case may decide whether Montana and other states can exclude religious schools from school choice programs. Kendra Espinoza’s two daughters attend Stillwater Christian School in Kalispell. They’re in sixth and eighth grade and Espinoza says she sent them there five years ago for its strong academics and faith-based teachings. “And so I really wanted a better input for them, for their lives. So, I wanted them to have something that was more grounded to the same values we have at home,” said Espinoza. Tuition for Espinoza’s two daughters could total over $15,000 per year, but she gets up to 50 percent tuition assistance from the school itself. Espinoza says she was also receiving up to $1,000 from a school choice program […]
