CHAPTER FouR • CiviL LibERTiEs 71
cate our children adequately. One proposed solution to the problem has been for state and
local governments to issue school vouchers. These vouchers represent state-issued funds
that can be used to purchase education at any school, public or private. At issue is whether
voucher programs violate the establishment clause.
In 2002, the United States Supreme Court held that a voucher program in Cleveland,
Ohio, did not violate the establishment clause. The Court concluded that because the
vouchers could be used for public as well as private schools, the program did not uncon-
stitutionally entangle church and state.^5 The Court’s 2002 decision was encouraging to
those who support school choice, whether it takes the form of school vouchers or tuition
tax credits to offset educational expenses in private schools.
Today, a variety of states allow public funds to be used for private school expenses.
Some have small-scale voucher or scholarship programs for a limited number of stu-
dents, frequently special-needs students. A growing number of states provide tax deduc-
tions for private school expenses. Interest in such programs became more widespread in
2011, after the 2010 elections gave conservatives control of many state governments.
Still, voucher programs have also been eliminated in several jurisdictions. In 2005, the
Florida Supreme Court ruled that vouchers violated the Florida state constitution. In
2007, Utah voters rejected a voucher plan that was created earlier that year by the state
legislature.The issue of school Prayer—Engel v. Vitale. Do the states have the right to pro-
mote religion in general, without making any attempt to establish a particular religion?
That is the question raised by
school prayer and was the precise
issue presented in 1962 in Engel
v. Vitale,^6 the so-called Regents’
Prayer case in New York. The
State Board of Regents of New
York had suggested that a prayer
be spoken aloud in the public
schools at the beginning of each
day. The recommended prayer
was as follows:Almighty God, we acknowl-
edge our dependence upon
Thee, And we beg Thy
blessings upon us, our par-
ents, our teachers, and our
Country.Such a prayer was implemented
in many New York public schools.
The parents of a number of
students challenged the action of
the regents, maintaining that it- Zelman v. Simmons-Harris, 536 U.S.
639 (2002). - 370 U.S. 421 (1962).
These high school students pray around the school flagpole
before classes in Lufkin, Texas. Do their actions violate the separation of church and state?
(AP Photo/Joel Andrews/The Lufkin Daily News)9781285436388_04_ch04_066-091.indd 71 10/15/13 8:56 AM
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