Breaking through Blaine's roadblock

Today's school-choice proponents are fighting not only teachers unions but a legacy left by some of their ancestors: the Blaine Amendments in 37 state constitutions | Marvin Olasky

"Whoever digs a pit will fall into it, and a stone will come back on him who starts it rolling."

That slapstick humor from the book of Proverbs has rarely been better illustrated than in the current drive for school choice. Pro-voucher Protestants excited by the Supreme Court's late-June green light have now run into stop signs placed in state constitutions by some of their ancestors a century or so ago.

Those stop signs are called Blaine Amendments, and 37 of the 50 states have them. Delaware's is typical: No state money "shall be appropriated to, or used by, or in aid of any sectarian, church, or denominational school." But it's the story behind those amendments that could make all the difference in a U.S. Supreme Court analysis of the constitutionality of these provisions.

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August 24, 2002, Vol. 17, No. 32

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