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Washington, DC – Tomorrow the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments for Arizona Christian School Tuition Organization v. Kathleen M. Winn. This case involves a challenge to an Arizona school choice law that provides dollar-for-dollar tax credits to taxpayers who make contributions to independent organizations, which in turn grant scholarships to students attending private schools. Liberty Counsel filed an Amicus Brief in this case. Mandi Campbell, Esq., Legal Director of the Liberty Center for Law and Policy, will be present at the hearing and also available immediately afterward.

Liberty Counsel represents the American Association of Christian Schools, which includes Arizona private schools directly affected by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals’ ruling that struck down the educational choice law. While some of the independent organizations that receive money under the tax credit program give scholarships only to sectarian schools, other organizations offer scholarships to secular and religious private schools.

The money coming to these organizations is from the voluntary donations of tax-paying citizens of Arizona, not from the government. Each organization within the program outlines which schools qualify for scholarships. The donor chooses which organization to support and can be reimbursed for up to $500 in donations per year. The Plaintiffs complained that donations to secular schools are lower than donations to religious ones so that secular schools and students are at a disadvantage because they have fewer financial resources available to them than are available to religious schools and students.

The state of Arizona and various tuition organizations successfully had the case dismissed in the federal district court, but the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals overruled the district court, and the Supreme Court has agreed to hear the case. 

Mathew Staver, Founder and Chairman of Liberty Counsel and Dean of the Liberty University School of Law, commented: “Parents deserve the right to choose how to educate their children. This program gives parents the rights that everyone should enjoy. It is contrary to our history of liberty that parents should be forced to educate their children in government schools, particularly when some schools doom their children to failure. Parents know best about their children’s well-being and should be given every opportunity to provide a quality education of their choice.”

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