This week, the Supreme Court heard oral argument in Carson v. Makin, which centers around the free exercise clause, and public funding for religious education. The issue is whether a state—in this case, Maine—violates the First Amendment by prohibiting students from participating in an otherwise generally available student-aid program from choosing to use their aid to attend schools that provide religious, or “sectarian,” instruction. In Maine, not all school districts have their own public secondary schools. For students in those districts, the state will pay for them to attend private high schools—unless the private school has a religious affiliation. The petitioners in this case are parents who are seeking that state funding for their son to attend a religious private school.
Host Jeffrey Rosen is joined by Erwin Chemerinsky, dean of the UC Berkeley School of Law and co-author of The Religion Clauses: The Case for Separating Church and State, and Michael McConnell, Richard and Frances Mallery Professor of Law and director of the Constitutional Law Center at Stanford Law School. They discussed the history of religious schooling and public funding in America under the Constitution, including from the founding onward; what historical precedent means for how to understand and interpret the religious freedom clauses of the First Amendment; and how the Court might rule in the case.
FULL PODCAST
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This episode was produced by Melody Rowell and engineered by Greg Scheckler. Research was provided by Michael Esposito, Chase Hanson, and Sam Desai.
PARTICIPANTS
Erwin Chemerinsky is Dean of the UC Berkeley School of Law, and he joined an amicus brief with other education and constitutional law scholars in support of the respondent. He’s also co-author of The Religion Clauses: The Case for Separating Church and State.
Michael McConnell is Richard and Frances Mallery Professor of Law and Director of the Constitutional Law Center at Stanford Law School. He filed an amicus brief in support of the petitioners. And he’s also co-author of our Interactive Constitution explainers on the free exercise and establishment clauses.
Jeffrey Rosen is the president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, a nonpartisan nonprofit organization devoted to educating the public about the U.S. Constitution. Rosen is also professor of law at The George Washington University Law School and a contributing editor of The Atlantic.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
- Amicus brief by education and constitutional law scholars, which Erwin Chemerinsky joined, in support of the respondent
- Amicus brief by Michael McConnell, in support of the petitioners
- Listen to the oral argument
- Read the oral argument transcript
TRANSCRIPT
This transcript may not be in its final form, accuracy may vary, and it may be updated or revised in the future.
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