Supreme Court lifts ban on state aid to religious schooling

(AP) — The Supreme Court has ruled that states can’t cut religious schools out of programs that send public money to private education.

The court’s 5-4 ruling, with conservatives in the majority, came Tuesday in a dispute over a Montana scholarship program for private K-12 education that also makes donors eligible for up to $150 in state tax credits. Montana’s highest court had struck down the tax credit as a violation of the state constitution’s ban on state aid to religious schools.

The scholarships can be used at both secular and religious schools, but almost all the recipients attend religious schools.