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Constitutional Law Keyed to Choper
Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue
Citation:
140 S.Ct. 2246Facts
In 2015, the Montana Legislature established a program that provided a tax credit of up to $150 to taxpayers who donated to organizations that awarded scholarships to students attending private schools. The Montana Department of Revenue subsequently issued Rule 1, which prohibited families from using these scholarships at religious schools, citing Montana’s constitutional no-aid provision that bars government aid to schools controlled by churches. Kendra Espinoza and two other mothers who sent their children to Stillwater Christian School challenged this rule, arguing it discriminated against them based on their religious views. The trial court enjoined Rule 1, but the Montana Supreme Court reversed, holding that the entire scholarship program violated Montana’s no-aid provision and invalidating the program in its entirety. This effectively eliminated scholarships for students attending both religious and secular private schools.
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