MIDLAND, Mich. — Michigan’s discriminatory Blaine Amendment will continue to restrict school choice after the United States Supreme Court declined to hear a case challenging the amendment’s constitutionality. Five families, represented by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy and John Bursch Law, sued the state after they were prohibited from using funds saved through the Michigan Education Savings Program, a tax-exempt 529 plan, to help offset the cost of K-12 private school tuition.

The Supreme Court’s refusal to hear this case opens the door for Michigan’s overly broad Blaine Amendment to be used as a blueprint for other states seeking to hinder school choice.

While most states’ Blaine Amendments prevented aid to religious schools, Michigan’s goes even further by prohibiting state funds from supporting any non-public educational institution. This includes indirect aid like tax-exempt funds saved through 529 plans. A string of recent Supreme Court decisions struck down Blaine Amendments in other states on First Amendment grounds, but Michigan’s version remains in place and is one of the most restrictive in the nation.

“Despite appearing neutral, Michigan’s Blaine Amendment was adopted in a blatantly anti-Catholic political campaign,” said Patrick J. Wright, vice president for legal affairs at the Mackinac Center. “False neutrality should not become a means of undermining school choice. If the Court won’t act on this issue, then Congress should.”

Families in other states are accessing education options that would previously have been considered unobtainable. This can be life-changing, especially for low-income families who want to take their kids out of failing districts and send them to other schools. In places like Detroit, many students are trapped in a failing system. The Detroit Public Schools Community District has consistently ranked at the bottom of the Trial Urban District Assessment, which measures math and reading performance among fourth and eighth graders in 27 U.S. cities.

“Michigan families are desperate to have more options,” said Dr. Molly Macek, director of education policy at the Mackinac Center. “A child’s educational success shouldn’t be determined by the family’s financial means or zip code. We will continue to keep fighting until every family has the ability to choose the best education for their children.”

The state’s Blaine Amendment could still be rendered obsolete by national legislation or by a change to Michigan’s Constitution.

Learn more about the case here.