Church vs. State
Tax Credits for Religious Education
Eight years ago, in the landmark case Zelman v. Simmons-Harris (2002), the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a program in which Cleveland, Ohio, provided taxpayer-funded vouchers that parents could use to pay tuition for their children at both religious and secular private schools. [See School Choice, Supreme Court Debates (Apr. 2002).] In a five-to-four decision, the Court endorsed the constitutionality of the principles behind the school choice movement — that some public schools were broken beyond repair, and the best way to help students who could not afford private school tuition was to give them the opportunity to use government funds…
