EdChoice statement on oral arguments in Carson v. Makin

U.S. Supreme Court heard Maine town tuitioning case this morning

INDIANAPOLIS—EdChoice, a national nonprofit organization that promotes state-based educational choice programs, released the following statement from Vice President of Legal Affairs Leslie Hiner on U.S. Supreme Court oral arguments this morning in the Carson v. Makin case.

“A parent’s right to choose K-12 academic instruction taught consistent with the family’s values must be upheld under our U.S. Constitution. Parents’ right to choose K-12 education that aligns with their values and the unique needs of their children was hotly debated at the U.S. Supreme Court this morning.

“Maine argued that the state can compel parents to choose a school providing secular teaching from the state’s viewpoint when the parents accept public funding for their children’s education. Parents may use state funding to choose a private school, but if the values of the parents and school are not aligned with the state’s secular views, even when the school meets the state’s academic instruction requirements, the state will provide no funding for the student’s academic instruction.

“Thankfully, Michael Bindas of the Institute for Justice argued strongly in favor of parents’ constitutional rights in a school choice program to choose a school regardless whether instruction is provided from the lens of faith and the parents’ values.”

In September, EdChoice and the Maine Policy Institute filed an amicus brief in support of parents in the Carson v. Makin case. EdChoice’s Hiner, counsel of record for the brief, revealed the discriminatory history and conflicting state rulings regarding religious liberty that have interfered with children’s access to an education they desire for over 170 years.

In the brief, Leslie shares the powerful 19th century story of Father John Bapst, a Catholic priest who was tarred, feathered, and run out of town on a rail for opening a Catholic school after he helped Catholic students leave their public school, where they were scorned bitterly for refusing to deny their faith.

Read the brief here: https://bit.ly/CarsonMakinAmicusBrief