EdChoice files amicus brief in Carson v. Makin
Supreme Court to hear oral arguments in Maine town tuitioning case in December
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 the filing today of an amicus brief in the Carson v. Makin case.
“It is unconscionable to deny any child the option to attend a school where the child will have the best chance to learn, in an environment where the child feels comfortable, safe and valued,” Hiner said. “The blessings of liberty secured in our Constitution should not be denied to children, our nation’s future.”
Families in Maine who want the option to use town tuitioning public education funding for a school that is the best fit for their kids to learn—regardless whether a religious or secular school—received help today from the EdChoice Legal Defense & Education Center (LDEC).
EdChoice and the Maine Policy Institute filed an amicus brief at the U.S. Supreme Court in support of parents in the Carson v. Makin case. Leslie 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.
Father Bapst was a simple man who did good for others, helped children of faith to be included in education funding, and became the first president of Boston College. Sadly, in the 20th century, Catholic children, and children of other faiths, were once again denied access to funding for education unless they denied their faith. This continues today, into the 21st century.
Read the brief here: https://bit.ly/CarsonMakinAmicusBrief
