Zelman v. Simmons-Harris (2002)

Zelman v. Simmons-Harris (2002)

The Supreme Court examined whether the State of Ohio’s Pilot Project Scholarship Program violated the Establishment Clause in providing tuition vouchers for certain students in the Cleveland City School District to attend participating public or private—including religious and nonreligious—schools of their parents’ choosing.

In a 5-4 decision, the Court held that the program aid was neutral in all respects toward religion, and that therefore the program did not violate the Establishment Clause. Tuition aid under the program was distributed to parents according to financial need, and where the aid was spent depended solely on where parents chose to enroll their children.

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