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Do you agree with the U.S. Supreme Court striking down Maine’s ban on public funds for religious school tuition?

The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to strike down a Maine law that bars the use of public funding for tuition at religious schools has ignited debate about its impact on education system.

Officials say the decision will likely have limited impact in Maine, which has long allowed students in towns with no public high school to put taxpayer money toward the cost of an outside school, public or private. The law has barred students from using those funds at religious schools for the past 41 years.

But the decision could create opportunities for school choice programs in other states.

The high court’s decision stemmed from a lawsuit by two Maine families suing the state in Carson v. Makin, who argued they were eligible for the outside school program but unable to spend tuition money on the religious school of their choice. The conservative majority on the Supreme Court sided with those religious interests, with Chief Justice John Roberts writing a majority opinion that the Maine program violates the Constitution’s guarantee of the free exercise of religion. If Maine allows taxpayer money to go to non-religious private schools, it also has to allow taxpayer money to go to religious ones too, Roberts wrote.

But what do you think? Do you agree with the Supreme Court’s ruling that strikes down Maine’s ban on public funds for religious school tuition? Let us know what you think the poll and comments below.

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