U.S. Supreme Court: Excluding Religious Schools From A Scholarship Program Is Unconstitutional

Highlights

• In Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that Montana could not exclude religious schools from a tax credit scholarship program on the grounds that the state "no aid" or Blaine amendment required it.
• The decision reiterates that disqualifying otherwise eligible recipients from a public benefit solely because of their religious character imposes a penalty on the free exercise of religion that requires the most exacting scrutiny.
• The U.S. Supreme Court determined that Montana's constitutional interest in separating church and state more strictly than the Establishment Clause was not a compelling interest that could satisfy strict scrutiny in opposition to the Free Exercise Clause.