Discussion for article #238025
Hahahahaha!!! Oh manâŚhow is this managing to fly under Christian Freakout Commandâs radar?
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This is good news. However, I am interested in hearing othersâ opinions on whether this issue can withstand a Supreme Court test.
âParents are free to send their children to private religious schools if they wish, but the Colorado Supreme Court affirmed today that taxpayers should not be forced to pay for it,â
And yet, religious employers are allowed to prevent themselves from having to pay for insurance that provides for private health care decisions they shouldnât even know about in the first place.
The RWNJâs hypocrisy on this will and does know no bounds.
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I didnât read the Colorado judgement, but if theyâre allowing vouchers, but just not allowing them to be used at religious schools, then they might have a case.
Iâd suspect that the SC would rule that if a jurisdiction has a voucher program, that the voucher program has to accept all properly accredited schools regardless of whether they were religious or not, if I had to guess.
Legalized buttsecks makes a great distraction.
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This Supreme Court??? Good luck with that.
If Colorado was smart, theyâd have their legislature head this off at the pass before it even reaches this Supreme Court, by getting rid of vouchers altogether, in order to prevent them being used for private religious education, or as we used to call them when I was growing up, parochial schools. Thatâs the way the Rethugs would do itâŚ
Either that, or have some private school be opened that offers K-12 Wiccan educational studies in the State and see how the Christianists like having their tax dollars go to voucherizing that particular form of education. Fair is fair. It worked when the Christianists wanted to put up religious monuments on public land until some devil worshippers wanted to do the same, didnât it? Or am I misremembering?
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âA school voucher program in suburban Denver violates the state constitution because it provides funding for students to attend religious schools, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled [by a 4-3 vote] Monday.â
Frantic denunciations of âfour unelected lawyersâ by the HobbyLobby/ChickFilA/Goysha Industrial Complex in 3, 2, 1âŚ.
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DIVISION OF CHURCH & STATE!!
What is it that you religious buybul thumpers donât understand!!
I do not want my tax dollars going to brainwash children into your religious doctrine!
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(donât tell people to Google âKingsman church scene youtubeâ)
(donât tell people to Google âKingsman church scene youtubeâ)
(donât tell people to Google âKingsman church scene youtubeâ)
(donât tell people to Google âKingsman church scene youtubeâ)
(donât tell people to Google âKingsman church scene youtubeâ)
Ah fuck it.
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Separate! Separate!
Church and State
Church and State!
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Big caveat as I have not read the opinion and am relying on a quote from an AP article. But, the article says that the Colorado Supreme Court found that the program violates the âstateâ constitution. If that is correct, then I see no room for the US Supreme Court to overrule this decision. The State Supreme Court would be the final arbiter of an issue arising under the state constitution. Just because a similar voucher was found to not violate the Ohio and US Constitutionsâ limitations on support of religious institutions (which is what this is about) does not mean that Colorado cannot have a more protective clause that would prohibit this support by the state.
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Good point.
That was my first thought as well, but theyâd be arguing essentially that the US Constitution forbids using religion as a criteria in determining whether a school is a suitable candidate for a general education voucher. So, if two schools had all of the same required certifications but one wasnât eligible for public vouchers (only) because itâs religious, itâd be fairly easy to make a case that itâs illegal discrimination against religion.
Iâm with SRfromGR in that the state should just abolish vouchers altogether; I donât think that theyâll be able to provide vouchers and forbid them from being used at (properly accredited) religious schools.
I agree completely on the voucher elimination question.
On the other point, I understand the argument and the distinction between the general education voucher and the arguments that the proponents made. But, this is not about the ability to exercise their religion - they are free to do so completely - it is about the receipt of state benefits, and, on this score, I do not think that the US Constitution can be interpreted as acting to preclude a state constitution from saying that no state funds can go to any religious institution regardless of purpose.
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That would depend on whether the subject school had mandatory religious instruction/services as part of its curriculumâŚ
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I donât know the origin of these particular vouchers. But most voucher programs have been a backdoor technique by folks who want to get rid of public education itself. That is, anti-gov libertarians & religious right. So it is very possible that all the use was for religious schools.
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I think thatâs how it works here in WI. The students are not required to attend religilous activities, but CâMON the pressure to conform has to be institutional. Plus it allows participating parents to have their child indoctrinated at the taxpayerâs expense.
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I doubt thatâd matter to the SC. I think that test would only matter if these religious schools were the only (reasonable) option for students. So, the state couldnât compel a student to attend a religious school, either directly or by not offering reasonable alternatives of the same (or better) quality.
Thatâs why most state program funds that go to religious institutions to provide services forbid proselytizing, since thatâd effectively be the state coercing people in the name of (a) religion.
Allowing religious schools to receive vouchers in a (competitive) âmarketplaceâ of schools wouldnât likely be seen as coercion since parents sending their kids to them presumably would know what theyâre in for, and no one is compelled to send their children to them if they donât want to.
Stepping back, I think that all education vouchers should be eliminated, and Iâm far from a proponent of religious schooling, but Iâd be surprised if the SC would let stand a blanket prohibition on distributing State funds to schools/programs/institutions simply because have a religious focus.
Iâd also be interested to know if the prior SCOTUS decisions were made in light of a state constitution that explicitly barred this kind of funding. Otherwise, the decision will be more about the legality of the Colorado Constitution more than the legality of a voucher program.