Columbus, OH – On Wednesday, The Buckeye Institute joined the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty (WILL) in filing an amicus brief in Hile v. Michigan, urging the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the case and rule that Michigan’s anti-religion Blaine amendment is unconstitutional. 

“Entrenched education bureaucracies and special interests are using Michigan’s anti-religion Blaine amendment to prohibit parents from using money they saved through the Michigan Education Savings Program for private school tuition,” said Alex M. Certo, a legal fellow at The Buckeye Institute. “Not only is the state’s amendment unconstitutional, but it denies families in That State Up North the opportunities and benefits school choice offers.”

Michigan’s anti-religion Blaine amendment prohibits parents from using money they saved through the Michigan Education Savings Program—a tax-exempt 529 plan—for private school tuition. In their brief, Buckeye and WILL note that Michigan’s Blaine amendment violates the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution and outline that as early innovators of school choice efforts, Ohio’s and Wisconsin’s experiences demonstrate that “voters and legislators value giving parents the ability to choose the educational environment that best fits the needs of their children.”

As the brief outlines, the turning point in Ohio’s school choice debate came when Democratic Cleveland City Councilwoman Fannie Lewis and The Buckeye Institute joined forces to host the Summit on Vouchers in 1994. The summit brought together hundreds of parents and concerned citizens, many of whom had children stuck in Cleveland’s failing public schools. The parents heard from Polly Williams, a democratic Milwaukee legislator who championed school choice in Wisconsin. This event galvanized the parents who took their demands for school choice to their elected representatives in Columbus. These efforts, combined with Republican support for school choice, led to the passage of the Cleveland Scholarship and Tutoring Program.

The Mackinac Center Legal Foundation and Bursch Law represent the families in Hile v. Michigan.

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UPDATE: On October 7, 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court denied cert in Hile v. Michigan.