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Blaine Amendments are provisions in many state constitutions that prohibit the use of state funds at "sectarian" schools. They're named for James G. Blaine, who proposed such an amendment to the U.S. Constitution while he was Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives in 1875.
Blaine Amendments were passed as a direct result of the nativist, anti-Catholic bigotry that was a recurring theme in American politics during the 19th and early 20th centuries. The federal amendment passed overwhelmingly (180-7) in the House, but failed narrowly (by 4 votes) in the Senate. Supporters of the amendment then turned their attention to the individual states, where they had much more success. In some states, Blaine Amendments were adopted by the usual constitutional amendment process. In the case of states just entering the Union , they were forced to adopt similar language as a requirement for gaining statehood.
Today, 37 states (see below) have provisions placing some form of restriction on government aid to "sectarian" schools that go beyond any limits in the U.S. Constitution.
Text of the Blaine Amendment:
“No State shall make any law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; and no money raised by taxation in any State for the support of public schools, or derived from any public fund therefore, nor any public lands devoted thereto, shall ever be under the control of any religious sect; nor shall any money so raised or lands so devoted be divided between religious sects or denominations."
In the Supreme Court's Mitchell v. Helms decision in 2000, the four-Justice plurality explicitly recognized that the term "pervasively sectarian" in First Amendment jurisprudence has a "shameful pedigree." Justice Breyer's dissent in this year's Zelman v. Simmons-Harris further develops the theme, and makes clear that the Court now recognizes that many of its school funding decisions rest on shaky ground.
Now that the Supreme Court has cleared the last remaining federal obstacle to school choice programs ( Zelman held that well designed voucher programs do not violate the Establishment Clause), supporters are finding that their states' Blaine Amendments may prohibit such programs.
For more information on Blaine Amendments, go to www.blaineamendments.org |
