Professor Michael Helfand Quoted on Supreme Court Religious School Funding Decision in New York Sun and Forward News

Professor Michael A. Helfand is quoted regarding the Supreme Court decision in Carson v. Makin in the New York Sun article, "High Court's Ruling Ending Discrimination Against Religious Schools in Maine Could Have Broad Impact in U.S.," and the Forward News article, "Orthodox Leaders: Supreme Court Ruling Will Boost Religious Schools Far Beyond Maine."

Excerpt from "High Court's Ruling Ending Discrimination Against Religious Schools in Maine Could Have Broad Impact in U.S."

A religious liberties scholar and law professor, Michael Helfand, says today’s decision has broad-reaching implications beyond schooling. He points to historic preservation grants for churches and synagogues.

“There are so many other government funding programs in which the government makes the public policy decision that there’s a set of private institutions that deserves funding for secular reasons,” Mr. Helfand says. “Constitutional law had not yet been clear, that where that money might coincidentally be used for religious purpose … whether or not states could exclude or local government could exclude religious institutions. You can’t do that anymore.”

The complete article may be found at New York Sun

Excerpt from "Orthodox Leaders: Supreme Court Ruling Will Boost Religious Schools Far Beyond Maine"

In New York, for example, some have raised objections to a state program that funds STEM education in private schools, including religious schools. Michael Helfand, a professor at Pepperdine Law School who wrote an amicus brief on behalf of the OU in the case, said the ruling would insulate such programs from judicial challenge.

Helfand also welcomed what he sees as a broad approach of the ruling, in that it rejected the argument that sending public money to religious schools is in effect supporting religious education. 

The complete article may be found at Forward News