Carson v. Makin

Maine’s legislature created a tuition-assistance program for families in school districts without public high schools. In this program, parents chose the high school their child was to attend, and the local school district paid that school to subsidize the child’s tuition. To qualify for this program, private schools had to meet two requirements. First, the schools had to have accreditation from the New England Association of Schools and Colleges or a curriculum approved by the Maine Department of Education. Second, schools could not provide religious instruction. David and Amy Carson and Troy and Angela Nelson wanted to send their daughters to Bangor Christian School and Temple Academy, both accredited private religious schools. However, the schools did not qualify for tuition assistance because religious-based instruction was provided. The Carsons and Nelsons (plaintiffs) then sued Pender Makin, the commissioner of the Maine Department of Education (defendant), alleging that the program violated the First Amendment’s Free Exercise Clause. Maine argued that the program did not violate the Free Exercise Clause because schools were not disqualified based on religious status but on the religious use of public funds. Maine also argued that the state had a compelling antiestablishment interest in preserving the separation of church and state. The district court granted summary judgment to Maine. The First Circuit affirmed, and the United States Supreme Court granted certiorari.