The Law: Church-School Challenge

In its efforts to fuel U.S. education with cash, the Great Society has taken a relaxed view of the First Amendment ban on official establishment of religion. Convinced that all Americans will benefit, Congress has included parochial-school students in a $1.3 billion federal program aiding U.S. public schools, and folded church-related campuses into a $1.6 billion plan for aiding higher education. The purpose is surely secular, but is it constitutional?

Last week the Supreme Court ducked the question by refusing to review a key decision from the Maryland Court of Appeals that voided state aid to three church-related colleges and approved it...