PHOENIX — The Arizona Supreme Court Tuesday handed a defeat to the American Civil Liberties Union in its attempt to have a program that funds scholarships for low- and middle-income children declared unconstitutional. The court declined to review a ruling by the Court of Appeals that upheld the program.
The Alliance Defense Fund filed a friend-of-the-court brief with the Court of Appeals in defense of Arizona’s Corporate Tuition Tax Credit Program on behalf of the non-profit student tuition organization School Choice Arizona.
“Parents should be able to choose the right school for their children,” said ADF Senior Counsel Gary McCaleb. “This completely constitutional program gives Arizonans a broad range of educational choices. To block those choices simply because the program allows religious and secular schools to participate equally is nothing short of discrimination. The appellate court ruled rightly, and we are very pleased that the Supreme Court’s decision to let the ruling stand means that the ACLU’s loss is children’s gain.”
The state program for corporate taxpayers allows tuition scholarships to be used by students at public or private schools, including religious schools. The ACLU filed a lawsuit,
Green v. Garriott, contending that the inclusion of religious schools is a violation of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.
The trial court dismissed the lawsuit. The ACLU appealed to the Arizona Court of Appeals, which ruled that the law that established the program, Section 43-1183 of the Arizona Revised Statutes, “does not violate the Establishment Clause of the United States Constitution. Section 43-1183 has a valid, secular purpose; it does not have the effect of either advancing or inhibiting religion, because it is neutral towards religion and provides for genuine private choice; and §43-1183 does not involve excessive governmental entanglement.”
ADF is also defending Arizona’s Individual Scholarship Tax Credit Program in federal court on behalf of the Arizona Christian School Tuition Organization. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit
narrowly decided Oct. 21 not to hear
an appeal in the case
Winn v. Garriott over the dissent of eight circuit judges who agreed with the district court’s decision to dismiss the case. ADF attorneys are considering an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court to have the trial court’s dismissal reinstated.
ADF is a legal alliance of Christian attorneys and like-minded organizations defending the right of people to freely live out their faith. Launched in 1994, ADF employs a unique combination of strategy, training, funding, and litigation to protect and preserve religious liberty, the sanctity of life, marriage, and the family. ADF President Alan Sears is co-author with Craig Osten of the book The ACLU vs. America.
http://www.adfmedia.org/