A group of New York school boards sued the state's Commissioner of Education claiming that the Education Law violated both the First and Fourteenth Amendments. The Law required the state to provide textbooks to all school children in grades seven through twelve regardless of whether they attended public or private schools.
The Court upheld the constitutionality of the New York Education Law because it furthered a secular end.
| Majority Opinion: (Justice White) |
In Everson, the Court decided that "the Establishment Clause does not prevent a State from extending the benefits of state laws to all citizens without regard for religious affiliation." The New York law has the secular purpose of increasing the educational opportunities available to students. Books are only loaned to the students, so the parochial school never has ownership of them. Also, the law does not allow for the loaning of religious textbooks. Parochial schools offer religious and secular educations to students, this law only furthers their efforts in the latter area.
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Dissenting Opinion: (Justice Douglas:)
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"Whatever may be said of the Everson decision, 330 U.S. 1, there is nothing ideological about a bus." Aid to religious schools may not violate the Establishment Clause when the aid does not promote an ideological end. However, textbooks are paramount to the teaching in a parochial school, and are the "chief instrumentality for propagating a particular religious creed or faith."
This decision interpreted parochial schools' missions as two-fold and separate. The secular and religious education aspects could be partitioned and one could be helped without the other also benefiting.
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Last modified: 02/15/01
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