Attack on Ga. school choice program exposed as false
Activist group seeks to exclude Christian schools from state tuition scholarship program
Attorney sound bites: David Cortman | Matt Sharp
“No one should be ostracized because they don’t share the same sexual agenda as an activist group that opposes school choice,” said Senior Counsel David Cortman. “The Constitution protects the right of private, Christian schools to teach and follow biblical principles. Any efforts to prevent these schools from participating in the state’s tax credit scholarship program would violate the First Amendment freedoms of these schools and the students who attend them.”
“Two very recent Supreme Court decisions affirm such programs and the right of private religious schools to act consistently with their beliefs,” Cortman added, referring to the cases Arizona Christian School Tuition Organization v. Winn (2011) and Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (2012).
The Southern Education Foundation, which opposes school choice legislation, falsely claimed in a recent issue brief that Georgia’s tax credit scholarship program is diverting millions of dollars in “taxpayer funds” to private Christian schools that have “draconian anti-gay policies and practices.” The group calls for these schools to be excluded from participating in the program as long as they maintain such policies.
Citing the Alliance Defending Freedom victory at the U.S. Supreme Court in Arizona Christian School Tuition Organization v. Winn, the Jan. 28 letter to state legislators explains that SEF is merely attempting to punish private schools which “choose to adhere to Biblical standards of morality.” The letter debunks the claim that taxpayer funds are being diverted to private schools. The scholarship funds come from the private donations of individuals and corporations across the state, not from government coffers.
“SEF’s entire issue brief is grounded in its inaccurate claim that ‘Georgia’s tax dollars help finance private schools…,’ the Alliance Defending Freedom letter explains. “The Supreme Court found no merit to such arguments [in ACSTO v. Winn], instead finding that ‘contributions [to scholarship organizations] result from the decisions of private taxpayers regarding their own funds….’ ‘[T]he tax credit system is implemented by private action and with no state intervention….’ The same is true of Georgia’s system…. The complete lack of State intervention establishes that, contrary to SEF’s claims, there are no ‘public funds’ involved in the private funding of SSO’s by individuals and corporations.”
“This activist group should not be allowed to stand in the way of great school choice programs like those in Georgia, Arizona, and many other states that are providing parents with real options to select the best education for their child,” said Legal Counsel Matt Sharp. “Ironically, SEF, in preaching tolerance, is clearly intolerant of anyone who disagrees with its agenda. Rather than the current program, which is open to anyone, SEF wants to limit it to its cronies.”
Alliance Defending Freedom is an alliance-building legal ministry that advocates for the right of people to freely live out their faith.
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ABOUT David Cortman
David A. Cortman serves as senior counsel and vice president of U.S. litigation with Alliance Defending Freedom. He has been practicing law since 1996, and currently supervises a team of over 40 attorneys and legal staff who specialize in constitutional law, focusing on religious freedom, sanctity of life, and marriage and family. Cortman has litigated hundreds of constitutional law cases including two victories at the U.S. Supreme Court. In Trinity Lutheran Church v. Comer, he secured a 7-2 victory that overturned Missouri’s denial of a religious school’s participation in a state funding program. Cortman also argued Reed v. Town of Gilbert, securing a 9-0 ruling that prohibits the government from discriminating against religious speech. A member of the bar in Georgia, Florida, Arizona, and the District of Columbia, he is also admitted to practice in over two dozen federal courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court. Cortman obtained his J.D. magna cum laude from Regent University School of Law.
ABOUT Matt Sharp
Matt Sharp serves as senior counsel with Alliance Defending Freedom, where he is the director of the Center for Public Policy. In this role, he leads ADF's team of policy experts as they craft legislation and advise government officials on policies that promote free speech, religious freedom, parental rights, and the sanctity of human life. Since joining ADF in 2010, Sharp has authored federal and state legislation, regularly provides testimony and legal analysis on how proposed legislation will impact constitutional freedoms, and advises governors, legislators, and state and national policy organizations on the importance of laws and policies that protect First Amendment rights. He has twice testified before the U.S. Congress on the importance of protecting free speech and religious liberty in federal law. Sharp also authored an amicus brief to the U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of nearly 9,000 students, parents, and community members asking the court to uphold students’ right to privacy against government intrusion. Sharp earned his J.D. in 2006 from the Vanderbilt University School of Law. A member of the bar in Georgia and Tennessee, he is also admitted to practice in several federal courts.