Christian Message Boards: Maine Dept. of Ed. Sued for Religious Discrimination

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Posted by Lost (Member # 343) on :

ACLJ Files Suit Against Maine Dept. Of Education For Discriminating Against Religious Schools By Denying Tuition Payments
October 18, 2002

(Portland, ME) - The American Center for Law and Justice, an international public interest law firm, today filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Portland, Maine against the Maine Department of Education and a school district claiming a state law that provides tuition payments for secondary education is unconstitutional because it prohibits parents from using the tuition payments at religious schools.

"The Supreme Court of the United States has made it clear that religious schools must be treated in the same manner as other schools with respect to tuition funding," said Vincent McCarthy, Senior Counsel of the ACLJ, which filed suit on behalf of several high school students. "The law in Maine discriminates against religious schools by denying parents the opportunity to use state funds provided to taxpayers for tuition at religious schools. The law is not only discriminatory in nature but unconstitutional as well. We're confident the court will ensure that parents who choose a religious school for their children will receive the same financial benefits afforded to parents who choose non-religious schools for education."

The ACLJ today filed suit in U.S. District Court in Portland on behalf of John and Belinda Eulitt and their daughter, Cathleen as well as Kelly MacKinnon and her daughter, Lindsey. Both students attend St. Dominic's Regional High School in Auburn since the Town of Minot, does not have a high school.

State law requires Minot officials to pay tuition for high school age residents to attend "a private school approved for tuition purposes, a public school in an adjoining unit which accepts tuition students, or a school approved for tuition purposes in another state or country." The law, however, states that only private schools that are determined to be a "non-sectarian school" are approved for tuition purposes.

In June 2002, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that state tuition vouchers could be used at private, religious and non-religious schools. The Supreme Court ruling also made it clear that school vouchers could not be used to discriminate against religious schools.

St. Dominic's Regional High School is a private, Catholic school. The lawsuit contends that the plaintiffs knew that a request for funding to attend St. Dominic's would be turned down by the state. The plaintiffs also cite a letter issued by Maine Attorney General G. Steven Rowe who concluded that despite the Supreme Court ruling, sectarian schools in Maine would continue to be excluded from participating in the statewide, publicly-funded education program. The plaintiffs have not received state funding and are paying tuition for their children to attend St. Dominic's - tuition which totals approximately $5,000 per year.

The suit names as defendants the Department of Education for the State of Maine, the Commissioner of Education, Maine School Union Number 29, and the Minot School Committee. The suit contends that the state law violates the First and Fourteenth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution. The suit requests that the court declare the state law unconstitutional and reimburse the parents for tuition paid to St. Dominic's. McCarthy said the Supreme Court decision clearly underscores the fact that the Maine law is out-of-step with current legal precedence and violates the constitution.

The American Center for Law and Justice specializes in constitutional law. The ACLJ is headquartered in Virginia Beach, VA and its web site address is www.aclj.org.