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Friday, February 7, 2020

National Education Policy Center: The Dangerous Case of Espinoza v. Montana, Now Before the US Supreme Court | Diane Ravitch's blog

National Education Policy Center: The Dangerous Case of Espinoza v. Montana, Now Before the US Supreme Court | Diane Ravitch's blog

National Education Policy Center: The Dangerous Case of Espinoza v. Montana, Now Before the US Supreme Court


The future of public education hangs in the balance. The US Supreme Court has shifted far to the right, with the addition of religious zealots Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh. The case, Espinoza v. Montana, would permit them to eliminate the line of separations between church and state, abolishing every state constitutional provision that bars public funding of religious schools. The Court has already ruled that religious “freedom” makes it permissible for a place of business to refuse service to someone based on their sexual orientation, if that refusal is based on sincere religious beliefs. Will we one day learn that racial discrimination is permissible so long as it is based on sincere religious beliefs? The possibilities for destroying basic principles of civil rights and liberties in the name of religious freedom are frightening. I am reminded that when Jeb Bush wanted to eliminate the no-aid-to religious-schools in Florida, he gave his replacement the deceptive title of “the Religious Freedom Amendment.” Voters turned it down 55-45 in 2012. He and the legislature went ahead to create multiple voucher programs, despite the clear language of the state constitution and the will of the voters.