Moses v. Skandera

Summary

The New Mexico Supreme Court held that the state’s schoolbook loan program violates Article XII, Section 3 of the New Mexico Constitution because it uses funds appropriated for educational purposes to provide direct or indirect support to private schools. The court interpreted that provision as broader than the federal Establishment Clause and rejected distinctions based on whether aid is secular, indirect, or formally distributed to students rather than schools. It reversed the Court of Appeals and the district court without reaching the petitioners’ remaining constitutional claims.