Committee for Public Education v. Nyquist
The district court upheld the constitutionality of the tax benefit but agreed that the direct money grants and tuition reimbursement violated the Establishment Clause.Justice Hugo Black writing for the majority in Everson upheld a New Jersey state law that reimbursed the parents of parochial school students for transportation costs.If the Court finds a legitimate secular purpose, the law may still be unconstitutional if the primary effect advances religion or results in excessive entanglement between government and religious orders.Writing for the majority, Justice Lewis Powell recognized as valid the legislative findings of the statute for all three programs, including the interest in "promoting pluralism and diversity" of school choice.Distinguishing Everson, Allen and Tilton, the Court found that without restricting the grants to exclusively secular facilities the law "has a primary effect that advances religion in that it subsidizes directly the religious activities of sectarian elementary and secondary schools.