USCC applauds decision on school computers

Washington D.C. - The U.S. Catholic Conference applauded the June 28 decision of the Supreme Court of the United States to allow government funded computers to be used in all schools, public and non-public.

Mark Chopko, General Counsel of the USCC, noted the following.

"In a landmark ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court reversed a decision of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals and upheld the constitutionality of a federal education program that provides library books, computers, and other resource materials for the benefit of students attending private religious elementary and secondary schools. The participation of these children in thc program, Title VI of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), had been challenged as a violation of the Establishment Clause. The Court’s rejection of this argument makes clear that the Establishment Cause cannot be used to deny children attending religious schools their statutory right to participate on an equitable basis in this important program. Their parents pay federal taxes and it is only fair that their children receive benefits under the federal program, just as public school children do. The Court recognized that this program poses no meaningful threat to lead to an establishment of religion, as understood by the Framers of the Constitution."

Mercy Sister Lourdes Sheehan, the U.S. Bishops’ Secretary for Education, praised the decision.

"This may be one of the most significant decisions that impact the rights of students in religious schools to enjoy equal access to technology and other resources necessary for a quality education in the 21st century," she said.