Committee For Public Education & Liberty v. Nyquist

413 U.S. 756 (1973)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

New York established financial aid programs for nonpublic elementary and secondary schools. The state would give money grants to schools for maintenance, repair of school facilities and equipment to ensure the health, welfare, and safety of enrolled students. Qualifying schools were those that served a high concentration of pupils from low-income families. The programs also allowed tuition grants and a tax benefit program. Parents with annual income of under $5,000 could receive limited reimbursement for tuition payments to private schools ($50-$100). The legislature found that a fiscal crisis in nonpublic schools made the money grants necessary for health, safety, and welfare. Taxpayer relief was also granted for those with less than $9,000 in gross income (a credit of $1,000 per student for up to three dependents). There was a sliding scale with the program of tax credits, and they were phased out with $25,000 in gross income. They also found that any precipitous decline in the number of nonpublic schools would cause a massive increase in public school enrollment and costs thus aggravating a serious fiscal crisis in public education. P's challenged the legislation on the grounds that religious schools were included among the qualifying schools. It was found that 20 percent of the students in New York attended private schools and that 85 percent of those were religious.