Maine | July 2, 2021
Supreme Court Will Hear Potentially Landmark Maine School Choice Case
Maine | July 2, 2021
Arlington, Virginia—Today, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear a potentially landmark case challenging a Maine law that bans families from an otherwise generally available student-aid program if they choose to send their children to schools that teach religion. The Institute for Justice (IJ), which represents the parents in Carson v. Makin, will argue the case in the 2021-22 term before the justices.
In 2020, the Institute for Justice won the landmark Supreme Court victory in Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue, in which the High Court held that states cannot bar families participating in generally available student-aid programs from selecting religiously affiliated schools for their children. The Court held that discrimination based on the religious “status,” or identity, of a school violates the Free Exercise Clause of the U.S. Constitution.
Despite that ruling, in October 2020 the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a religious exclusion in Maine’s tuition assistance program for high school students. Under that program, if a school district does not maintain its own public school or contract with a school to educate its students, it must pay for students to attend the school of their parents’ choice—whether public or private, in-state or out-of-state. Parents, however, may not select a school that Maine deems “sectarian,” which the state defines as a school that provides religious instruction….
(Excerpts from First Liberty)
Alaska, California, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, Wyoming | May 17, 2021
Enough! State Attorneys General URGE Facebook to Scrap Instagram for Kids
Alaska, California, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, Wyoming | May 17, 2021
The National Association of Attorneys General had to urge Facebook to drop a potentially “harmful” project targeted at kids. Apparently, Facebook needs to be encouraged to protect children online.
Attorneys general from 44 states and territories sent a letter to Facebook Chief Executive Officer and founder Mark Zuckerberg. The Attorneys General urged Zuckerberg to scrap plans to develop an Instagram platform for children under the age of 13. Facebook is the parent company of Instagram. ..
(Excerpts from MRC News)