Education Secretary Betsy DeVos announced yesterday that, in light of a 2017 Supreme Court decision, she will put the brakes on enforcing the provision in federal law that bars religious organizations from providing federally funded educational services to private schools. In Trinity Lutheran Church of Columbia Inc. v. Comer, the Supreme Court found that Missouri had violated the constitution when it engaged in religious discrimination by denying a church-run preschool publicly funded tire scraps for its playground. Yes, recycled tire scraps make for a soft landing on the playground.
DeVos pointed to consultation with the Justice Department in explaining the conclusion that she has reached—as far as she and her team are concerned, that there are significant concerns about constitutionality when it comes to rules around federal dollars and private schools.
Andy Smarick is the civil society, education, and work director at the R Street Institute and previously served as president of Maryland’s state board of education. He also happens to have a knack for explaining policy in a way that is really helpful for those of us who are interested and engaged but not necessarily edu-wonks. So here is Andy’s explainer, via Twitter, for those who want to better understand what this move by DeVos does—and doesn’t—mean. Thanks Andy!
Kids in private schools get to benefit from the programs in some federal education laws. For example, low-income kids who are intended to get help from Title I funds, a huge category of funds for disadvantaged students.
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— Andy Smarick (@smarick) March 11, 2019
So low-income kids in religious private schools can get Title I-funded services but those services can't be provided by the religious school or a religious partner org. Essentially, the public school district makes arrangements for the provision of those services.
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— Andy Smarick (@smarick) March 11, 2019
That's big enough.
But this forces an even bigger question.
There are provisions throughout state constitutions known as Blaine Amendments. In various ways they prevent religious orgs from benefiting from government funds. These seriously affect private faith-based schools.
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— Andy Smarick (@smarick) March 11, 2019
This DeVos decision essentially calls the question.
She inviting the US Supreme Court to resolve this matter:
Is it OK for federal law and state constitutions to exclude religious organizations from benefits enjoyed by others?
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— Andy Smarick (@smarick) March 11, 2019
I think there's an 80% chance this SCOTUS, when presented the right case, declares Blaine Amendments unconstitutional.
That would make religious orgs eligible for more state aid. That would have many ripples, including opening the door to more state voucher programs.
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— Andy Smarick (@smarick) March 11, 2019