SCOTUS Rules Out Bias Against Religious Schools

We have to give thanks to President Trump’s appointment, during his term in office, of three conservative justices to the Supreme Court for their votes to support the first amendment and its call for religious freedom to be practiced in this land.  Last week, the Supreme Court ruled that religious schools can’t be specifically excluded from a Maine program that pays private-school tuition for students in areas that lack public schools. Basically, Maine leaned on the mis-used and discriminatory false precedent that the Constitution somehow implied that there must be a “separation between church and state.” Chief Justice John Roberts delivered the 6-3 majority decision, Carson v. Makin, supported by Justices Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett, that Maine’s policy infringes on the Constitution’s actual guarantee of  “free exercise” of religion; that they cannot disqualify some private schools solely because they are religious. Kudos to them!

In standing  up for religious liberty and the practice thereof, the court ruled that Maine violated the Constitution which actually protects the free expression of religion. In contradiction to the majority, which we support wholeheartedly, liberal Justice Sonia Sotomayer, falsely warned that the court is attempting to dismantle, “the wall of separation between church and state that the Founders fought to build.”  She does not want to subsidize “religious indoctrination” with taxpayer dollars. We’ve heard that before. Actually, the Constitution clearly differentiates between church and state with regards to religion, and specifically prohibits official interference with religious affairs in order to protect religious freedom from discrimination.

We concur with the majority decision that ruled against denying benefits to kids whose parents enrolled them in religious schools. We’re of the opinion that parochial schools have much to offer educationally and morally compared to public schools. In addition, parents of all kids, no matter what schools they attend, pay taxes for public education in addition to the costs of their choice of private education. If you decide to have your offspring attend a parochial school, why not have part of your tax money go to that school?

Actually all schools must meet certain educational standards set by the states, and as of this writing, the best source of education is in private schools, both sectarian and non-sectarian. It’s the truth. Private schools tend to focus on preparing kids for college. There are an alarming number of drop-outs from public schools versus a nil percentage of such from all private schools. Normally public schools have class sizes averaging 25 as compared to private schools’ 19 per class and the ratio of student to teacher in private schools is 12-1 as opposed to  the other side’s 16-1. And the average student in private school outperforms his counterpart in all standardized test scores. And let’s not forget the discipline situation between them. Private schools may toss out problem kids whereas public schools must retain students who disrupt classes. The educational benefits of a private school, religious or not, are obvious.

Again, we congratulate the Supreme Court for its decision to remove the discrimination against private, parochial schools, practiced by so many states and municipalities. Last Tuesday’s vote was a long time in coming. We and most Americans welcome the educational diversity which will benefit all future generations. We pat the Supreme Court on the back for doing its job. May they stay safe and secure.