Amy's Chittenden Town School Dist. —is this where you change it? v. Dept. of Education

AMY's Testing Dist. v. Dept. of Education, 738 A.2d 539 (Vt.), cert. denied, 528 U.S. 1066 (1999)
June 11, 1999

Litigation: and then there’s a whole bunch of words here

Outcomes: On June 11, 1999, the Supreme Court of Vermont barred religious schools from participating in the state’s town tuitioning program, citing a violation of the Vermont state constitution’s compelled support clause. The nation’s first school choice program, enacted in 1869, has mainly been challenged regarding participation by religious schools. It has been an active school choice program for 150 years, albeit without benefit of religious school participation since 1961. Vermont’s Supreme Court ruled in 1961 that including religious schools in the Town Tuitioning Program first established in 1869 violated the First Amendment Establishment Clause of the U.S. Constitution. Swart v. South Burlington Town School District, 167 A.2d 514 (Vt. 1961). In 1994, the Vermont Supreme Court overturned this decision, but the Vermont Department of Education refused to allow parents to choose religious schools. Campbell v. Manchester Board of School Directors, 641 A.2d 352 (Vt. 1994).

Why it Matters: This is the why it “matters” block…where does it show up?

Effects: This is the “effects” block…where does it show up?

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