David Carson, as Parent and Next Friend of O. C., et al. v. A. Pender Makin, in her official capacity as Commissioner of the Maine Department of Education
Whether a state violates the religion clauses or equal protection clause of the United States Constitution by prohibiting students participating in an otherwise generally available student-aid program from choosing to use their aid to attend schools that provide religious, or "sectarian," instruction.
Court membership
Chief Justice
John Roberts
Associate Justices
Clarence Thomas·Stephen Breyer Samuel Alito·Sonia Sotomayor Elena Kagan·Neil Gorsuch Brett Kavanaugh·Amy Coney Barrett
Laws applied
U.S. Const. amend. I
Carson v. Makin (Docket 20–1088) is a pending United States Supreme Court case related to the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. It is a follow-up to Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue.
Background[]
Many towns in Maine do not have public school districts. The state provides a tuition assistance program for residents of those localities to send their children to private schools, but sectarian schools are excluded. The Institute for Justice represents two families challenging the exclusion of sectarian schools from the program.[1]
Supreme Court[]
Certiorari was granted in the case on July 2, 2021.
