IP: CHURCH-STATE SUIT COULD NIX PLAN FOR INTERNET IN SCHOOLS -- from Edupage

[Dave Farber <farber@cis.upenn.edu>]

The Supreme Court has decided to review an appeals court decision 
against a government program that allows public schools to loan 
classroom equipment to private and parochial schools. The 
appeals court struck down the program in Louisiana, Mississippi, 
and Texas due to First Amendment issues -- specifically language 
barring the government from "establishment" of religion. The 
Clinton administration has argued that, if implemented across the 
country, the ruling could jeopardize the administration's plan to 
provide schools with computer equipment and Internet access. The 
case will be heard next fall, but the Supreme Court is not likely 
to hand down a ruling until the following year. 
(USA Today 06/15/99)