Members of the U.S. Supreme Court, 2021-22. (Getty Images) (CNS News) — In response to the Supreme Court’s 6-3 ruling that Maine’s tuition assistance program cannot exclude schools on the basis of religious affiliation, Maureen Ferguson, a senior fellow at The Catholic Association , said, “Today’s decision is a momentous victory for religious freedom and parents’ right to educate their children as they see fit.” The Supreme Court’s June 21 ruling (6-3) in Carson v. Makin said that Maine, in providing tuition assistance to children in public and private schools, could not deny the same financial assistance to children in parochial schools. Maine’s attempt to exclude religious schools was found to violate the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment. The ruling drew praise from proponents of both religious liberty and school choice. (Getty Images) Ashley McGuire, also a senior fellow at The Catholic Association, described the Maine rule struck down by the Court as an example of “arcane anti-Catholic laws” that “especially hurt low-income children who suffer the most in failed schools.” According to McGuire, the 6-3 ruling “helps to end anti-religious discrimination and expands sorely-needed school choice for low-income families.” TCA’s Ferguson further said that the decision […]
