Washington D.C., Apr 5, 2011 / 03:56 am
In what's being lauded as a major victory for parental choice in education, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Arizona residents have a right to claim tax credit for donations to non-profit groups that provide scholarships to religious schools.
“Parents should be able to choose what’s best for their own children,” attorney David Cortman of the Alliance Defense Fund said. “This ruling empowers parents to do just that.”
On April 4, the high court ruled 5 – 4 to dismiss a lawsuit backed by the American Civil Liberties Union against an Arizona program that sought to promote school choice.
The case had pitted the Arizona Christian School Tuition Organization against a group of citizens charging that a 1997 government tax credit program amounted to a state establishment of religion. The program allowed taxpayers to donate money toward a variety of private scholarship foundations, rather than paying the same amount to the government through taxes.