Blaine Amendments Harm Educational Opportunity and Violate Constitutional Rights

Ilya Shapiro andDennis GarciaIn the late 19th century, dozens of states enacted amendments banning government aid to churches, religious schools, and other “sectarian” organizations. These “Blaine Amendments,” named after Senator James G. Blaine of Maine, who failed to secure the passage of a similar amendment to the U.S. Constitution, remain in force in many parts of the country.At the time these amendments were passed, it was widely understood that public schools followed a curriculum sympathetic to Protestantism to the exclusion of other religious traditions. “Sectarian” was a euphemism for “Catholic” and the Blaine amendments were widely recognized as an effort to bar funding to Catholic schools. While their anti-Catholic motivations are now a matter of history, Blaine amendments, such as Article X, Section 6 of the Montana Constitution, are sti ll in effect and often serve as a pretext for discrimination against religious groups.Kendra Espinoza is a single mother who works two jobs to afford her daughters ’ private-school tuition. When her youngest daughter struggled in public school and her older daughter was bullied, Kendra decided to enroll them both in Stillwater Christian School in Kalispell, Montana, where they have since flourished. At Stillwater, Kendra feels that her faith is supported by the school’s Christian character. Kendra benefited from a Montana program that provides tax-credit incentives for donations to scholarship funds that have l...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - Category: American Health Authors: Source Type: blogs