A Champaign County, Illinois, board of education granted permission to religious teachers to give religious instruction in
Question:
A Champaign County, Illinois, board of education granted permission to religious teachers to give religious instruction in public school buildings in grades four to nine. Subject to approval of and supervision by the superintendent of schools, the teachers were employed by a private religious group and included representatives of the Catholic, Jewish, and Protestant faiths. Only pupils whose parents requested religious instruction were required to attend the religious classes. McCollum, a resident with a pupil who was enrolled in one of the public schools, sued for a writ, or court order, to end the religious instruction as a violation of the First Amendment to the Constitution. The writ was denied, and the Illinois Supreme Court upheld the denial. The parent appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. Should the writ have been granted to end the practice as a violation of the First Amendment? Why or why not? (McCollum v. Board of Education, 333 U.S. 203)
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