The U.S. Supreme Court's refusal Monday to hear a school-voucher case out of Maine leaves a confusing patchwork of laws around the country.
Eight families from rural communities without high schools sought to use vouchers to send their kids to religious schools, but a state court ruled that an impermissible mixing of church and state. All the children involved in the suit have since graduated.
Their attorney, Dick Komer of the Institute for Justice, called the high court's refusal the "end of the road."
"This was their final shot," he told Family News in Focus. "As long as parents are making free and independent choices, they should be entitled to select whatever school they prefer."
Legal experts warn against reading too much into a denial from the high court, but Bruce Hausknecht, judicial analyst for Focus on the Family Action, said the decision leaves the country split on vouchers and religious schools.
"Every state statute is different," he said, "so every result comes out a little bit differently."
Five states offer school vouchers – Wisconsin, Arizona and Ohio allow them to be used for religious schools, Maine and Vermont do not. The provision in Arizona is being challenged.
Sean Parnell, vice president for external affairs at the Heartland Institute, said if there's an upside to the confusion, it's that states allowing religious schools to participate will have the opportunity to prove it can work.
"At this early stage in the school-voucher movement," he said, "we're going to see the states act as 'laboratories of democracy.' "
