No Aid to Religion Laws: The Origins and Legal Developments of Education Funding

• In Event: Law, Education, and Religion: The Religious Liberties of Students, Teachers, K–12 Schools, and Universities

Abstract

Four types of no aid to religion laws predated the ratification of the U.S. Constitution: state laws that banned funding of (1) teachers of religion; (2) sectarian instruction; and (3) seminaries. The first two types are commonly considered in the literature and the no seminary laws are intermittently discussed; whereas, a fourth type is routinely overlooked: (4) constitutions that prevent public education funding from being diverted for any other purpose. These no diversion laws found in the financial sections of state constitutions—not in the religion or education clauses—do not explicitly mention religion, which may explain why they have been regularly overlooked. And yet, these laws were routinely used to limit public funding to public schools.

Author

• Nathan C. Walker, 1791 Delegates