On January 22, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments over the public funding of religious schools. The Montana case, Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue, centers around a scholarship program that gave Montana students scholarships to attend private schools including religious ones. Montana state courts stopped this practice citing that it conflicts with their state constitutional provision that bars government money from going toward religious institutions.
Pennsylvania’s constitution states that money raised for public schools cannot be used to fund religious institutions. Similar to Montana, the Commonwealth also has a scholarship award program that students can use toward their private or religious school tuition. The Commonwealth’s tax-credit program uses money from the state’s General Fund which gives tax credits to donors who support scholarships that can then be used for religious school tuition.
The court is expected to give their decision by the end of their June term and, depending on how they rule, it may or may not impact Pennsylvania’s current tax credit program.
