December 8, 1997
Today, the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America -- the nation's largest
Orthodox Jewish umbrella organization -- through its Institute for Public Affairs, filed a
"friend of the court" brief with the Supreme Court of Ohio in support of the
city of Cleveland's pilot school voucher program. The brief was written by Institute for
Public Affairs director Nathan Diament and Ms. Pam Scheininger, a law student at Columbia
University.
The Pilot Scholarship Program grants up to $2,250 per child per year. The funds may
be used at any school the child attends, including private and parochial schools, for
tuition and other costs. The program has been challenged as unconstitutional under the
Establishment Clause of the U.S. Constitution as well as analogous provisions of the Ohio
Constitution. Although a trial court rejected these challenges, an intermediate appellate
court ruled the program unconstitutional. The question is now before the Ohio's highest
court.
The IPA brief contends that the program is constitutional because the purpose and primary
effect of the program is secular to improve the education Cleveland's low income children
receive. Moreover, relying on a ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court last June, the brief
argues that any benefits that flow to sectarian schools do so as a result of "the
voluntary and private choices of individual parents" and are thus permissible under
the Constitution.
"There is little question," stated IPA director Nathan Diament, "that the
pilot program is constitutional under recent precedents of the U.S. Supreme Court. That
Court has concluded that the Establishment Clause must not be read to discriminate against
religious individuals and institutions as long as they meet the same neutral criteria as
everyone else. We are confident the Ohio Supreme Court will agree with this sensible
reasoning and rule the Cleveland program constitutional."
The full text of the IPA brief will be soon available on the internet at
www.jlaw.com/Briefs.
NATHAN J. DIAMENT Director, Institute for Public Affairs, Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America
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