Vermont’s Town Tuition Program has been in place since 1869 and has provided funding to high school students to go to the school of their choice.
Because not every town in the state has a public high school, parents and students can opt for a private school, in which a set amount of funds are covered for the student’s expenses. It’s the oldest school choice program in the country, but one exception has been in place since a court ruling in 1999 – funds can’t go toward a religious school.
The law firm Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), headed by COS Co-Founder Michael Farris, represented families who wished to object this discriminatory rule that interferes with the First Amendment.
A family from the small town of South Hero requested tuition reimbursement for their child to attend Rice Memorial High School, a Catholic school. Their request was denied because of the school’s religious association.
Citing a 2017 case where the Supreme Court said a state cannot deny “a qualified religious entity a public benefit solely because of its religious character,” ADF moved forward with litigation.
After the Supreme Court ruled earlier this year that Maine cannot exclude students from government programs because they attend religious private schools, Vermont officials began to draw back. Their argument was destroyed.
In November, a settlement was reached and Vermont state and local government officials declared the state’s tuition program condition unconstitutional and unenforceable.
The bottom line, as put by ADF: “The government cannot exclude religious schools from generally available benefits because they are religious.”
"All parents should be able to send their kids to schools that are the best fit for them, and the First Amendment protects parents’ right to choose religious schools," said ADF Legal Counsel Paul Schmitt. "For more than two decades, Vermont unlawfully excluded religious schools and their students from public benefits, essentially eliminating school choice for many parents in the state."
Families who paid out of pocket will receive reimbursement from school districts and legal fees will be covered by the state and school districts.
During a time when religion appears to be absent from most of our culture, it's important that parents have the opportunity to raise their children in a manner that instills values that don't conform to today's world.
Our Founding Fathers were not perfect, but they did have the wisdom, intellect, and prudence to create a system that is capable of checking itself and balancing the contrasting sides.
AFL's Michael Farris is returning to COSA in 2023 to help us achieve the goal of calling for a Convention of States.
Join us in the fight for American freedom by signing the COS petition below.
