The decision of a federal court of appeals sitting in St. Louis, Mo. upholding the constitutionality of a Minnesota state law permitting parents of religious school students to claim deductions from their state income taxesfor tuition and other educational expenses will probably be upheld by the United States Supreme Court in any appeal, Howard Zuckerman, chairman of the National Jewish Commission on Law and Public Affairs, (COLPA) said today.
Under the Minnesota law, adopted in 1955, Minnesota parents of students attending public and private schools in that state, North and South Dakota, Iowa or Wisconsin may deduct up to $500 for each dependent in grades kindergarten to six, and up to $700 for those in grades seven to 12 for tuition, textbooks and transportation costs.
Zuckerman said there were instances in which public school parents are required to pay for cost of tuition for attendance by their children in schools outside of their particular district as well as for transportation and textbooks.
Dennis Rapps, COLPA executive director, said COLPA attorneys had consulted with attorneys for the State of Minnesota who had argued in support of the statute. The decision was handed down April 30 by the Court of Appeals, sitting in St. Louis, for the Eighth District, of which Minnesota is a part.
BASIS FOR COURT DECISION
The circuit court held that, since the deductions were for money going to otherwise qualified tax-deductible institutions, the Minnesota law did not “impermissibly benefit” religious institutions through its making possible tax relief for educational expenditures, in addition to non-educationally related support for those institutions.
The circuit court also cited the fact that since the Minnesota law permits deductions by all similarly situated parents, that is, for parents of both public and private school students, the law does not carve out tax benefits for a group of religious parents.
Rapps said that the Minnesota law clearly met the three-part test established by the Supreme Court in determining whether legislation violates the First Amendment ban on “establishment of religion.” That test provides that a law must have a “secular legislative purpose;” must not have a “primary effect of aiding or advancing religion;” and must not “foster excessive government entanglement with religion.”
THE LAW WILL NOT ADVANCE RELIGION
He said the fact that the law covered both private and public educational expenses and payments to institutions which had already qualified as tax deductible demonstrated that the low’s purpose or primary effect is “not that of advancing religion.”
Rapps said that while the decision specifically upholds the constitutionality of a state tuition tax deduction law, the constitutional tests applied to a federal tuition tax deduction law, should one ever be enacted, would be the same. Moreover, he added, the Supreme Court has in recent years indicated that federal statutes would be less likely to be struck down on establishment of religion grounds than state laws.
The appeals court decision was hailed as a major step forward “in the battle for recognition” of the rights of parents by Prof. Aaron Twerski, chairman of the Commission on Legislation and Civic Action of Agudath Israel of America.
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