| McCollum v. Board of Education | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Argued December 8, 1947 Decided March 8, 1948 | |
| Full case name | People of State of Illinois ex rel. Vashti McCollum v. Board of Education of School District № 71, Champaign County, Illinois, et al. |
| Citations | 333 U.S. 203 (more) 68 S. Ct. 461; 92 L. Ed. 2d 649; 1948 U.S. LEXIS 2451 |
| Case history | |
| Prior | People ex rel. McCollum v. Bd. of Ed. of Sch. Dist. No. 71, 396 Ill. 14, 71 N.E.2d 161 (1947); probable jurisdiction noted, 67 S. Ct. 1524 (1947). |
| Holding | |
| The use of public school facilities by religious organizations to give religious instruction to school children violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. | |
| Court membership | |
| |
| Case opinions | |
| Majority | Black, joined by Vinson, Douglas, Murphy, Rutledge, Burton |
| Concurrence | Frankfurter, joined by Jackson, Rutledge, Burton |
| Concurrence | Jackson |
| Dissent | Reed |
| Laws applied | |
| U.S. Const., Amends. I and XIV | |
McCollum v. Board of Education, 333 U.S. 203 (1948), was a landmark United States Supreme Court case related to the power of a state to use its tax-supported public school system to aid religious instruction. The case was a test of the separation of church and state with respect to education.
The case tested the principle of "released time" in which public schools set aside class time for religious instruction. The Court struck down a Champaign, Illinois, program as unconstitutional because of the public school system's involvement in the administration, organization, and support of religious instruction classes. The Court noted that some 2,000 communities nationwide offered similar released time programs affecting 1.5 million students.[1]
- ^ McCollum v. Board of Education, 333 U.S. 203 (1948).
This article incorporates public domain material from judicial opinions or other documents created by the federal judiciary of the United States.
