Berkley Center

In School District of Grand Rapids v. Ball, the Supreme Court considered the constitutionality of two Michigan programs that provided publicly funded classes to students of private, religious schools. The classes were taught by public school teachers on private school grounds, but the materials and supplies used for instruction and the salary for the teachers were paid for with public funds. The Court held that the programs violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. Citing Lemon v. Kurtzman, the Court stated that government aid to parochial schools must not have the effect of promoting religion, and must not unduly entangle the government with religious matters. The Court then found that the Michigan programs impermissibly promoted religion. First, the programs conveyed the message that the state supported the religious tenets of the schools in which the teachers taught. Further, there was too great a risk that teachers might subtly conform their teachings to their religious environment, resulting in religious indoctrination paid for with government funds. Finally, the programs constituted a subsidy to religious schools since the funds were used to teach secular subjects that the schools would have been required to teach themselves if the classes were not provided by the state, resulting in a significant savings to the religious schools. Because the programs impermissibly advanced religion, the Court found that they violated the Establishment Clause. This case was later overruled by the Court in Agostini v. Felton.