Time Line of Government Aid to Religious Education Cases Starting with Lemon v. Kurtzman

Lemon v. Kurtzman (1971) (8-1) - invalidates salary supplements for parochial school teachers

Committee for Public Education v. Nyquist (1973) - invalidates maintenance and repair grants to parochial schools (8-1), tuition grants (6-3) and tax relief (6-3) to parents of students attending private schools

Meek v. Pittinger (1975) (6-3) - strikes down provision of auxiliary services and loan of instructional materials and equipment to parochial schools and upholds loan of secular textbooks to children attending parochial schools

Wolman v. Walter (1977) (6-3) - upholds textbook loans, provision of tests/scoring of tests, onsite diagnostic services, offsite therapeutic services, strikes down loan of instructional material and equipment to parochial school students and field trip transportation.

Mueller v. Allen (1983) (5-4) - upholds tax deduction for educational expenses for students attending public and private schools

School District of Grand Rapids v. Ball (1985) - strikes down Shared Time Program (5:4) and Community Education Program (7-2) offered to private schools 40 of 41 of which are sectarian

Aguilar v. Felton (1985) (5-4) - strikes down provision of Title I services to parochial school students (onsite)

Witters v. Washington Department of Services for the Blind (1986) (9-0) - upholds student's use of state vocational rehabilitation program money to study to become a pastor, missionary or youth director

Zobrest v. Catalina Foothills School District (1993) (5-4) - upholds provision of school district sign-language interpreter to student at parochial high school

Agostini v. Felton (1997) (5-4) - upholds provision of Title I services onsite at parochial schools (overrules Aguilar v. Felton and Shared Time program in Ball)

Mitchell v. Helms (2000) (6-3) - upholds Chapter 2 aid in form of educational materials and equipment loaned directly to parochial schools on a per capita basis (overrules Meek and Wolman on issue of loan of instructional materials and equipment to parochial schools or their students)

Zelman v. Simmons-Harris (2002) (5-4) - upholds Ohio tuition aid (voucher) program that provides money to students in the Cleveland City School District so they can attend private schools (even though 96% of the students using the voucher aid then attend parochial schools)