Court Opinion

ID: 9687965
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-24 16:55:40.824714+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:18:33.803875
License: Public Domain

Newton, J.,
concurring in part and dissenting in part.
I concur in part, and dissent in part, with the majority opinion.
The Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 is an Act of Congress which provides public funds for certain educational purposes. See United States Statutes at Large, Vol. 79, p. 27. The Act, as subsequently amended, will be found in Title 20, U. S. C. A., § 241a et seq. A reading of the Act makes it clear that the funds provided may be allotted only to free public elementary or secondary schools. This necessarily bars, as recipients, all private and parochial schools. See Title 20, U. S. C. A., § 244 (6B). See, also, § 241e (a) (3), which provides: “* * * that the local educational agency has provided satisfactory assurance that the control of funds provided under this part, and title to property derived therefrom, shall be in a public agency for the uses and purposes provided in this part, and that a public agency will administer such funds and property; * *
Section 244 (6) (B), provides: “For purposes of subchapter II of this chapter, the term ‘local educational *17agency’ means a public board of education or other public authority legally constituted within a State for either administrative control or direction of, or to perform a service function for, public elementary or secondary schools in a city, county, township, school district, or other political subdivision of a State, or such combination of school districts or counties as are recognized in a State as an administrative agency for its public elementary or secondary schools.”
It is clear that the intent of the Act is not to provide funds for private schools but to permit students in private schools to benefit by enrolling in classes conducted by, and under the auspices of, public schools.
'There is nothing in the Act which can raise a constitutional question in regard to the appropriation of funds for private or parochial schools.
The only remaining question is in regard to the manner in which it is proposed to use the federal funds in this instance. Insofar as the expenditure of public funds, even though derived from federal sources, by the State, or a governmental subdivision of the State, is concerned, the State Constitution must be complied with. In such case, the manner in which the funds are to be used is pertinent. Services educational in nature, rendered to a sectarian school, are forbidden. On the other hand, services dealing basically with the public health and safety would appear to be legitimate. See In re Proposal C, 384 Mich. 390, 185 N. W. 2d 9.
The entanglement of church and state is, in this instance, minimal in nature. The leasing of property from a sectarian school is not necessarily forbidden. However, if the underlying theory advanced in the majority opinion is pursued to its logical conclusion, the school district could dispose of its public school building and lease sufficient space in the sectarian school to teach all secular school subjects. It could then teach these subjects to both public and parochial students, notwithstanding a portion of the building was retained for religious educational purposes. This appears to be di*18rectly violative of the principles enunciated in Johnson v. Sanders, 319 F. Supp. 421, affirmed without opinion in 403 U. S. 955, 91 S. Ct. 2292, 29 L. Ed. 2d 865.
White, C. J., and Spencer, J., responding to concurrence.
The concurring opinion makes the broad statement that the dissenting opinion misconceives the law and the facts. This position is buttressed by nothing more than a broad statement of the purpose of the act and its availability to all students. Whether or not this statement of purpose would save the act from being declared unconstitutional on its face is not the question before us. The problem is what the act actually authorizes and what the application in fact seeks to do. We reiterate, rhetoric aside, that the application seeks State approval and consent to the funding and spending of public tax money to furnish secular educational facilities and instruction to parochial school students within their own parochial school building. It is quite inconceivable to us that such an application, requiring public school teachers to teach parochial school students secular subjects in the confines of a parochial school building, does not raise constitutional questions of the most serious nature. The point is that, the constitutionality of any “special educational” program will necessarily depend upon the nature of the particular application and what it seeks to accomplish. In our opinion, the authorization of “pocket schools” as this application and this act envision is contrary to the basic provisions of the Constitution of the State of Nebraska and the federal Constitution with reference to the separation of church and state. The concurring opinion utterly fails to answer the questions of entanglement involved in this scheme and its execution, questions that exist no matter how efficient it may be claimed this program is in promoting the secular education of parochial school children. It utterly fails to answer the argument that the execution of this program in this application under the broad language *19of the federal program results in an aid to religion, because it is obvious that the provision for funding and providing instruction and education in secular subjects reduces the education cost and necessarily frees money and benefits for use for the particular religious purposes of the parochial school. We also reiterate our previous position that the law of separation of church and state, erected by our Constitution makers as one of the most fundamental principles of our government, was directed not only at religious penetration or intrusion into public education and the expenditure of public funds, but thrusts equally strong to prevent governmental or state penetration or intrusion into the freedom of parochial schools to conduct their religious program of education free of any restraints, inhibitions, or controls by the state or the federal government.
The concurring opinion also states the Epeldi v. Engelking, 94 Idaho 390, 488 P. 2d 860, “represents a definite minority viewpoint.” We feel that this statement simply cannot be supported. Even with respect to the issue of bussing, following the Everson case, the majority of states have rejected Everson and have barred transportation at public expense of children attending nonpublic schools. In Reutter 'and Hamilton, The Law of Public Education, p. 15 (Foundation Press, 1970), the following statement is made with reference to state court interpretation of state constitutions after Everson: “In subsequent years the highest courts of several states have considered the issue in light of their respective state constitutions. As of the end of 1969, more had rejected than accepted the reasoning of the majority in Everson and had barred transportation at public expense of children attending non-public schools.”
It hardly needs repetition that the issue involved in the physical transportation of students is far different than the issue we have before us here, namely, the intrusion of public funds into the actual teaching and instruction of parochial and public school students.
*20We further call attention to our previous decision in State ex rel. Public School District v. Taylor, 122 Neb. 454, 240 N. W. 573 (1932), where this court was asked to command that public funds be paid over to a parochial high school in Cedar County, Nebraska, which is precisely what is being asked in the case at bar. After finding that the school was obviously parochial and therefore without the definition of a public or common school, this court concluded that our state Constitution, citing Article VII, sections 3 to 9, Article VII, section 11, and Article I, section 4, would not allow the court to “require the state superintendent of public instruction to apportion part of the interest and income from the state common school trust funds to a school in part sectarian - a school which is not a common or public school within the meaning of the Constitution.” (Italics supplied.) In other words, the court rejected the notion that the use of public funds to teach secular subjects in a sectarian school was constitutional. To sum it up, it seems to us that the opinion of the majority in this case is authorizing the creation of an unconstitutional dual school system. There is. no reason to believe that public support of the parochial school in Cedar County will end v/ith one and one-half rooms and the teaching, by public school teachers, of a limited group of “secular” subjects.
It is stated that we have made an incorrect analysis of Johnson v. S'anders, the latest pronouncement on the subject. We note that the dissent mentioned the Johnson case only as it aided in the dissent’s analysis of the entanglement issue presented in this case. The criticism from the concurrence does not deal in any nature whatsoever with the entanglement issue and the issue of political divisiveness, issues which we think are fundamental to the disposition of this case. However, in going further, the concurrence does state that the Johnson case “clearly approved special education services of the kind involved here.” This statement is simply wrong. The reading of the Johnson opinion shows that the State *21of Connecticut did finance “secular education provided independently by parochial schools.” Unlike our situation here, there were only a minimum of state regulations as to the operation of the secular courses, and it was not the situation as it is here where there is to be a “pocket” public .school within the physical confines of a private school. The defect in the new program which Johnson declared unconstitutional was exactly that which we have here, namely, governmental promotion and complete control of secular educational activities within private institutions; “The State itself assumes responsibility for providing instruction in certain courses at parochial as well as at public schools.” The Johnson opinion, as we have pointed out, exhaustively exposes the entanglement and the political divisiveness of this intermingled situation.
In the Johnson case, the court compared the prior form of state aid to the newly enacted statutory plan, thus presenting the same issue we have here. The distinction between the Johnson case and the case we have here is a hairline at the most. It is this very type of hairline distinction which the thrust of Lemon v. Kurtzman, 403 U. S. 602, 91 S. Ct. 2105, 29 L. Ed. 2d 745 (1971), and the other cases seek to forbid. In the Johnson case, it is stated: “The primary effect of the type of ‘promotion’ prescribed would be much more extensive, transforming a unitary public school .system into a dual one which partially incorporates participating private schools as its administrative appendagesThe divisiveness and the entanglement may be stated as. follows: Will a Cedar County Catholic High School become a common school or will we have a dual system, public and “pocket” public?
There is another aspect of the Johnson case which was not previously mentioned in the dissent. The Connecticut statute in question in Johnson provided for the support of “any or all secular instruction at contracting schools.” Because of the potential of having the state *22administering the entire secular, portion of the private school’s instructional program, the court recognized the problem of government’s influence being so great that “state action” is created; i.e., the private school becomes an arm of the state and the state can be charged with the private school’s traditional discriminatory practices in admissions. Apart from that the court in Johnson noted that “it would infringe all taxpayer’s First Amendment rights to be assured that their money is not used to sponsor an institution which simultaneously teaches religion or applies selective religious standards.” In the case at hand, only a portion of secular instruction is controlled by the state, but coupled with the fact that the state is to have a leasehold interest in the property, the parochial school may become an arm of the state. See Burton v. Wilmington Parking Authority, 365 U. S. 715, 81 S. Ct. 856, 6 L. Ed. 2d 45.
In closing • this response, we call attention to the recent case of State ex rel. Chambers v. School Dist. No. 10 of Deer Lodge County, 472 P. 2d 1013, a Montana case. This case is almost directly in point with the case at bar. In that case the court held that their state Constitution prohibited public school boards from making levy for, or expending funds for the employment of teachers to teach in a parochial school, following the authority contained in a specific state statute. The state constitutional provision in Montana is almost in haec verba with the one in Nebraska. It states as follows: “Neither the legislative assembly, nor any county, city, town, or school district, or other public corporations, shall ever make directly or indirectly, any appropriation, or pay from any public fund or moneys, whatever, or make any grant of lands or other property in aid of any church, or for any sectarian purpose, or to aid in the support of any school, academy, seminary, college, university, or other literary, scientific institution, controlled in whole or in part by any church, sect or denomination whatever.”
*23In striking down the school board levy for the employment of teachers, to teach secular subjects in a parochial school, the court said: “The Chief Justice proceeded to point out (Walz v. Tax Commission, 397 U. S. 664, 90 S. Ct. 1409, 25 L. Ed. 2d 697) the dangers of such a course in these words: ‘The hazards of churches supporting govermnent are hardly less in their potential than the hazards of governments supporting churches; each relationship carries some involvement rather than the desired insulation and separation. We cannot ignore the instances in history when church support of government led to the kind of involvement we seek to avoid.’ ” The Montana court, in rejecting the argument that is made in the concurrence here, that our State Constitution is open to interpretation, said as follows: “Returning to Section 8 of Art. XI, it cannot be asserted that this section is ambiguous or indefinite and thereby open to interpretation since it clearly states in no uncertain terms that no school district can directly or indirectly appropriate or pay from public funds to aid the support of any school controlled in whole or in part by any church, sect or denomination. While it was argued to the contrary by the appellants, that such section could be interpreted to- support their theory of this case, we cannot accept such argument.”