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Everson v. Board of Education of the Township of Ewing

Facts of the Case

Provided by Oyez

A New Jersey law authorized reimbursement by local school boards of the costs of transportation to and from schools, including private schools. 96% of the private schools who benefitted from this law were parochial Catholic schools. Arch R. Everson, a taxpayer in Ewing Township, filed a lawsuit alleging that this indirect aid to religion violated both the New Jersey state constitution and the First Amendment. After losing in state courts, Everson appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court on purely federal constitutional grounds.

Questions

  1. Did the New Jersey statute violate the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment?

Conclusions

  1. A divided Court held that the law did not violate the Constitution. Justice Black reasoned that the law did not pay money to parochial schools, nor did it support them directly in anyway. It was rather enacted to assist parents of all religions with getting their children to school.

    Justices Jackson, Frankfurter, Rutledge, and Burton dissented.