Facts
- The New Mexico Public Education Department administered the Instructional Material Law (IML), which funds the purchase of instructional materials, including textbooks.
- Using IML funds, the Department purchased textbooks that remained state property and were loaned free of charge to students in public schools and in nonpublic schools, including religious schools, from early childhood education programs through twelfth grade.
- The Department allocated IML money to schools based on each school’s enrollment, and participating schools implemented the loan program for the benefit of their students.
- Taxpayer plaintiffs Cathy Moses and Paul F. Weinbaum sued the Secretary of Education (then the head of the Public Education Department), seeking declaratory relief that the IML violated the New Mexico Constitution because it provided a public benefit connected to private and sectarian schools.
- In earlier state-court proceedings (often referenced as Moses II), the New Mexico Supreme Court held that lending textbooks to private-school students violated N.M. Const. art. XII, § 3, which bars using public school funds “for the support of any sectarian, denominational or private school.”
- After the U.S. Supreme Court decided Trinity Lutheran Church of Columbia, Inc. v. Comer (2017), it vacated the New Mexico Supreme Court’s prior judgment and remanded for further consideration.
- On remand, intervening nonpublic schools and parents argued that the prior interpretation of art. XII, § 3 created serious federal constitutional problems by excluding otherwise eligible recipients from a generally available public benefit due to religious status.
Issues
- Whether the IML textbook-loan program violates N.M. Const. art. XII, § 3 by using public funds “for the support of any sectarian, denominational or private school.”
- Whether, in light of Trinity Lutheran, the Court should interpret art. XII, § 3 to avoid Free Exercise Clause concerns arising from denial of a generally available public benefit due to a school’s religious character.
- Whether the IML violates N.M. Const. art. IV, § 31, which limits appropriations for educational purposes to entities not under the state’s absolute control.
- Whether the IML violates N.M. Const. art. IX, § 14 (the anti-donation clause) by providing an unlawful donation or aid to private schools.
Decision
- The New Mexico Supreme Court upheld the IML textbook-loan program on remand.
- The Court held that providing state-owned textbooks as loans to students through a neutral, generally available program does not constitute the use of public funds “for the support of” private or sectarian schools within the meaning of art. XII, § 3.
- The Court rejected its earlier broader reading of art. XII, § 3 because it raised serious concerns under the federal Free Exercise Clause after Trinity Lutheran, and the Court construed the state constitutional provision more narrowly to avoid those concerns.
- The Court held that the textbook-loan program is consistent with art. IV, § 31 because the appropriation operates as part of the state’s education program and the state retains control over the funds and materials through state purchase and ownership.
- The Court held that the program does not violate art. IX, § 14 because the state does not donate textbooks to private schools; it retains ownership and loans the materials to students for an educational public purpose.
Legal Principles
- A state constitutional prohibition on using public funds “for the support” of private or sectarian schools can be construed to bar direct institutional subsidies while allowing neutral, generally available student-benefit programs.
- When a state constitutional interpretation would exclude otherwise eligible participants from a public benefit solely due to religious character or status, the interpretation can trigger serious Free Exercise Clause concerns under Trinity Lutheran and should be avoided if an alternative state-law construction is reasonable.
- A textbook-loan program in which the state purchases and owns the materials, and schools distribute them as part of administering a state program, can be treated as aid directed to students rather than financial support of the schools.
- State constitutional limits on appropriations to entities not under state control and anti-donation restrictions are not violated where the state retains ownership and control of the materials and the program serves a public educational purpose.
Conclusion
In Moses v. Ruszkowski, the New Mexico Supreme Court, on remand from the U.S. Supreme Court after Trinity Lutheran, upheld New Mexico’s IML textbook-loan program, holding that loaning state-owned textbooks to students in public and nonpublic (including religious) schools is a neutral, generally available public benefit that is not “support” of private schools under art. XII, § 3 and does not violate the state’s appropriation or anti-donation provisions.