School Choice and State Constitutions

Abstract

State constitutional provisions dating back to the nineteenth century occupy an increasingly prominent place in the twenty-first century debate over private school voucher programs. In the public debate and in the courts, voucher opponents invoke state constitutional provisions, popularly known as Blaine Amendments, to support their contention that government may not operate a program that sends money to religious schools. This Note, written in 2000, argues that many (if not all) of these state constitutional provisions themselves violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Federal Constitution.

Keywords: School choice, vouchers, Blaine amendments