On June 27, 2002, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of Cleveland’s school choice program in the most important education decision since Brown v. Board of Education. The court’s ruling in Zelman v. Simmons-Harris removed the federal Constitution from the legal arsenal of teachers’ unions and other school choice opponents and opened the door to full vindication of Brown’s promise of equal educational opportunity for all.
The federal lawsuit was the second brought by school choice opponents against the Cleveland program; in the first challenge, filed in state court, the Ohio Supreme Court also declared school choice constitutional.
The Cleveland Scholarship and Tutoring Program provides children from low-income, inner-city families with publicly funded scholarships to attend the private school of their parents’ choice. (Suburban public schools were invited to join the program, but refused.) The program was implemented as part of a comprehensive effort by the Ohio Legislature to aid one of the most troubled public school districts in the country.
Case Team
Staff
John E. Kramer
Vice President for Strategic Relations
Gretchen Embrey
Director of Paralegal Services & Senior Paralegal
Case Documents
Judge Solomon Oliver, Jr., Ohio Judicial Order
Supreme Court Order for Stay
IJ's Brief on the Merits to the U.S. Supreme Court
Sixth Circuit Court's Opinion
Hanna Perkins School, et al. Amicus Brief
State of Ohio Amicus Brief
Amicus Brief by American Education Reform Council
Amicus Brief by American Civil Rights Union
Amicus Brief by Black Alliance for Educational Options
U.S. Supreme Court Zelman Opinion
Media Resources
Get in touch with the media contact and take a look at the image resources for the case.
John E. Kramer Vice President for Strategic Relations [email protected]Related News
Liberty & Law Article
Marking the 10th Anniversary of IJ’s First U.S. Supreme Court Case
Liberty & Law Article
Together With IJ, I Fought for My Kids’ Futures
Liberty & Law Article
School Choice Victory!
Press Release
Victory for School Choice
Liberty & Law Article
Supreme Crescendo For School Choice
Liberty & Law Article
Friends of Choice Join Together As Friends of the Court
Liberty & Law Article
In Sight of the Summit
Liberty & Law Article
IJ Asks Supreme Court to Review Cleveland Case
Liberty & Law Article
Will My Family Still Have a Choice?
Liberty & Law Article
School Choice: One Last Step to the Supremes
Liberty & Law Article
Judge Strikes Down Cleveland School Choice But U.S. Supreme Court Lets Program Continue
Press Release
Sixth Circuit Allows Cleveland School Choice To Proceed
In 1995, Cleveland’s public schools were performing so badly that a Federal District Court declared a “crisis of magnitude” and placed the entire Cleveland school district under state control. It was under these circumstances that Ohio enacted its Pilot Project Scholarship Program in 1996 to provide financial assistance to families in any Ohio school district that is or has been under federal court order requiring supervision or management by the state superintendent; only Cleveland’s school district fell into this category.
An initial challenge to the program by a group of Ohio taxpayers resulted in an Ohio Supreme Court decision that found the substance of the program constitutional under both the state and federal constitutions, but found a procedural defect in its enactment. This was quickly fixed by the state legislature, and the program continued without a break.
In July 1999, shortly after the Ohio Supreme Court upheld the substance of the program, a group of Ohio taxpayers represented by the teachers unions filed another challenge to the program, arguing that the financial assistance violated the Establishment Clause of the U.S. Constitution. Opponents of the program argued that because the financial assistance was being used by families to attend private religious schools that the program in effect advanced religion. The Ohio Supreme Court had earlier rejected this precise argument, but the lower federal courts disagreed.
On June 27, 2002, in a 5-4 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the program and declared that the financial assistance to eligible families did not violate the Establishment Clause. The majority opinion held that the Ohio program was entirely neutral towards religion and provided benefits directly to a wide spectrum of individuals defined only by financial need and residence in a particular school district. The Court held that no “aid” reached religious schools except by the free and independent choice of the eligible families.
The Court stated that the program “permits such individuals to exercise genuine choice among options public and private, secular and religious. The program is therefore a program of true private choice,” and thus constitutional.
Related Cases
Educational Choice | Publicly Funded Scholarships
South Carolina ESAs
In 2023, South Carolina created the Education Scholarship Trust Fund (“ESTF”) program. This student aid program grants thousands of qualifying, low-income families a $6,000 scholarship that parents can use for educational expenses for their children—things…
Educational Choice | Publicly Funded Scholarships
Arkansas School Choice
In 2023, Arkansas’ education reform bill, known as the LEARNS Act, went into effect. The LEARNS Act created the state’s Education Freedom Accounts program, which provides eligible families with thousands of dollars to cover certain…
Educational Choice | Publicly Funded Scholarships
Utah Educational Savings Account Program
People have long come to expect a choice when it comes to their shopping. After all, not everyone has the same needs or wants. It’s an uncontroversial idea in nearly every facet of life. But…