AG ADVISES EDUCATION COMMISSIONER REGARDING RELIGIOUS SCHOOL
July 12, 2002
JULY 12, 2002
CONTACT: Paul Stern, Deputy Attorney General
207-626-8800
Attorney General Steven Rowe today responded to Education Commissioner
J. Duke Albanese's request for advice regarding the impact of last month's
U.S. Supreme Court decision in Zelman v. Simmons-Harris on Maine's
law that excludes sectarian schools from participation in Maine's state-wide,
publicly funded education plan.
Rowe advised that the Zelman decision did not address the issue
presented by Maine's law, and that the State and Maine school administrative
units should continue to consider sectarian schools ineligible for public
tuition payments until the Legislature or the courts mandate otherwise.
