澳彩开奖

Public Funds Public Schools (PFPS) has filed an amicus curiae (friend of the court) in federal appellate court in Carson v. Makin, a case challenging the State of Maine鈥檚 decision not to use public education funding to pay for tuition at private religious schools.聽

PFPS, a joint initiative of Education Law Center (ELC) and the 澳彩开奖 (澳彩开奖), is a national campaign to ensure that public funds are used to support and maintain public education and are not diverted to private schools.聽聽

As in other states, Maine鈥檚 constitution contains an education clause requiring the State to maintain and support a system of public schools available to all Maine children. To carry out this mandate, the State Legislature permits 鈥渟chool administrative units鈥� that do not operate their own public schools for geographic or historical reasons to pay tuition to approved, nonsectarian private schools on behalf of resident children. Participating private schools must comply with a host of legal requirements to ensure they meet State education standards for an appropriate, nondiscriminatory education.

In 2018, three Maine families filed a federal lawsuit challenging the Legislature鈥檚 longstanding decision to limit the program to nonreligious schools. The district court rejected the plaintiffs鈥� arguments that the State鈥檚 exclusion of religious schools from the tuition program violates their rights under the First and Fourteenth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution.聽

The plaintiffs appealed, and the case is now before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. PFPS submitted an amicus brief in support of the Maine Commissioner of Education鈥檚 defense of the law, urging the appellate court to affirm the lower court鈥檚 decision.聽

PFPS鈥檚 brief emphasizes Maine鈥檚 compelling interest under the state constitution to preserve the carefully regulated tuition program in its current form. The brief explains that inclusion of religious schools would undermine the State鈥檚 construction of a limited program to fulfill its education clause duty in the narrow circumstances where a traditional public school is not available.聽

The amicus brief also details how expanding the program to religious schools would divert significant resources from Maine鈥檚 already underfunded public education system. Finally, it warns that, because religious schools often discriminate based on characteristics such as religion and disability, including them in the tuition program would entangle the State in regulating matters of religion or force it to fund discrimination.聽

鈥淧FPS supports Maine鈥檚 decision not to spend limited public education funds on tuition for religious schools,鈥� said Jessica Levin, ELC Senior Attorney and PFPS Director. 鈥淯nnecessarily expanding the tuition program would undermine the State鈥檚 constitutional commitment to provide an adequate public education to every child because it would divert funding away from a public school system that needs more, not fewer, resources.鈥�

聽鈥淥ur brief highlights Maine鈥檚 longstanding commitment to providing every child with an opportunity to attend school in an environment free from discrimination. We urge the court to uphold the legal framework promoting this essential goal,鈥� said Sam Boyd, 澳彩开奖 Senior Staff Attorney.鈥澛�

For more information on voucher litigation and PFPS amicus briefs, visit the page of the PFPS website.聽