Gatton v. Goff

In a case involving a "Pilot Scholarship Program" in Cleveland (which provides scholarships to lower-income children for attending the private or public school of their choice), we provided additional guidance for the state courts regarding the current law in this field. The law was challenged by a group of plaintiffs that believed that providing funds to students to improve their educational prospects violated the "separation of church and state" since many of the students have used the scholarships to attend religious schools. Filing "friend of the court" briefs at the trial (Case No. 96CVH-01-193), appellate (Case No. 96 APE 08-991) and supreme court levels, we pointed out that there is no constitutional infirmity with a state providing educational benefits on a neutral basis to children. In other words, we argued that even if most funds were being used by children to attend religiously-affiliated schools, the important issue is that it is the parents making the decision, not the state. As the Supreme Court held in Rosenberger v. Rector and Visitors of the University of Virginia, 115 S. Ct. 2510 (1995), the principle of government neutrality toward religion

is respected, not offended, when the government, following neutral criteria and evenhanded policies, extends benefits to recipients whose ideologies and viewpoints, including religious ones, are broad and diverse.

You can read the law in question, R.C. 3313.975, by clicking the Institute for Justice' description of the case. The trial Court of Common Pleas of Franklin County agreed with us and found the Scholarship Program constitutional on July 31, 1996, thereby allowing Ohio to be the first state to allow publicly funded vouchers to pay for religious school tuition and fees. The Court of Appeals, however, reversed that decision and found that the program provided for impermissible government aid to sectarian schools.

Meanwhile, a study, "An Evaluation of the Cleveland Scholarship Program," conducted by Paul Peterson of Harvard University, Jay Green of the University of Texas at Austin, and William Howell of Stanford University revealed an increase in the academic performance of students participating in the Cleveland school choice program. The study found increases in those students' academic performance of 15 percentage points in math and 5 percent in reading abilities among the 2000 voucher students. The study also shows that the parents of these students reported high satisfaction with the resulting increase in academic quality, safety, and discipline.

UPDATE: On May 27, 1999, the Ohio Supreme Court held that the program does not violate the Establishment Clause of the Federal and Ohio constitutions, the School Fund Clause, the Thorough and Efficient Clause, or the Uniformity Clause of the Ohio Constitution. However, it did hold that the law did violate the "one-subject rule", Section 15(D), Art. II of the Ohio Constitution.