The Voucher System and the Establishment Clause

Two clauses in the First Amendment guarantee freedom of religion. The two clauses are establishment and free exercise. The establishment clause prohibits the government from passing legislation to establish an official religion or preferring one religion to another. It also prohibits the government from giving tax money to parochial institutions. It enforces the separation of church and state. In the 2002 Zelman versus Simmons-Harris case involving the Cleveland City School District, the Supreme Court confirmed the …

…The voucher system helps in raising the performance of students in the Cleveland City School District. It also gives inner-city students from low-income families the opportunity to attend quality schools that would not have this opportunity without the help of the voucher system. The parents have the choice to send their kids among all the participating schools, both secular and parochial. Therefore the voucher system does not violate the establishment clause in the first amendment.