EVERSON VS BOARD OF EDUCATION

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

WHEN IT STARTED

• Term: 1940-1949
• Location: Residence of Everson
• Argued: Nov. 20, 1946
• Decided: Feb. 10, 1947

SUMMARY

• The Petitioner, Everson, in his status as a taxpayer, filed suit challenging the ability of the Respondent, Board of Education to reimburse funds to parents of parochial school students for the transportation of their children to & from school.

SYNOPSIS

• This case stands for the proposition that while no law respecting an establishment of religion will stand under the US Constitution, neutral laws, which afford benefits to the children will be upheld.

ISSUE

• The case considers whether the parents of parochial school children can benefit from the same services afforded to the parents of public school children.

FACTS

• A New Jersey law allowed reimbursements of money to parents who sent their children to school on buses operated by the public transportation system. Children who attended Catholic schools also qualified for this transportation subsidy.

ADVOCATES

• Edward R. Burke
• William H. Speer
• E. Hilton Jackson

ARGUMENTS

The 1st Amendment prohibits a State from establishing an official religion. The use of tax money to transport parochial school students constituted State assistance and tacit endorsement of religious instruction. Therefore, using tax money to transport parochial school students violated the Establishment Clause.

ARGUMENTS

The 1st Amendment, in addition to prohibiting the establishment of a State religion, also prohibits actions which prevent the free exercise of religion. To withhold assistance to parents for the transportation of their children to parochial schools would be to discriminate against parents of Catholic school children and thereby violate the Free Exercise Clause.

A New Jersey State law authorized local school districts to make arrangements and rules for transporting children to public and private nonprofit schools. One school district, Ewing Township, directed students to use the public bus system to get to and from school, and then reimbursed their parents for the costs.

The township made payments to parents of both public school students and students of private, Catholic schools—payments that were permitted under State law.

Mr. Everson(tax payer) brought suit against the Board of Education. In State court, he argued that money collected as taxes for public education was being used instead to help support students of private schools—private schools that provided religious education on behalf of a particular church.

Everson claimed that the payments to parents of parochial school students violated the constitutional guarantee against the "establishment" of a religion contained in the 1st Amendment. The school board, Everson believed, had violated the constitutionally guaranteed "separation of church and state."

DECISION

IMPACT ON SOCIETY

The Impact on teaching is known to be both good and bad with the final decision. The establishment of the religion clause of the first amendment means that the federal or state governments cannot support or establish a church. No laws can be passed to aid one religion of non-religion school over another. The teachers will be limited to what can be covered within the class lessons, when it comes to religion limited to general and history information.

Teachers have to leave their beliefs outside of the. Lass when it comes to religion. Schools are limited to incorporating religion into school events. The effects of the decision have increased lawsuits in the courts and caused a deeper look at the meaning behind the words in the written constitution.

CIRCUMSTANCES

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