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The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that the state of Maine may not bar religious schools from a tuition assistance program.
美国最高法院星期二裁定，缅因州不得禁止宗教学校参与学费援助计划。
The case involved a rule of Maine's Department of Education.
此案涉及缅因州教育部的一项规定。
The rule permits families who live in areas that do not have public schools to receive public money to send their children to a public or private school of their choosing.
该规定准许居住在没有公立学校的地区的家庭接受公共资金，将他们的孩子送到他们选择的公立或私立学校。
That program, however, bars the money from going to religious schools.
然而，该计划禁止他们用公共资金把孩子送到宗教学校。
Families that want to send their children to religious schools say the law violates their religious rights.
想要把孩子送到宗教学校的家庭表示，这项法律侵犯了他们的宗教权利。
In a 6-3 decision, the high court ruled that the Maine program violates the Constitution's protections for religious freedoms.
美国最高法院以6票赞成、3票反对的结果裁定，缅因州的这一计划违反了宪法对宗教自由的保护。
Writing for the majority, Chief Justice John Roberts wrote, "The State pays tuition for certain students at private schools--so long as the schools are not religious. That is discrimination against religion."
首席大法官约翰·罗伯茨代表大多数人写道：“该州为私立学校的某些学生支付学费——只要这些学校不是宗教学校。这是对宗教的歧视。”
The court's three liberal justices disagreed with the majority decision.
最高法院的三名自由派法官不同意多数人的裁定。
"This Court continues to dismantle the wall of separation between church and state that the Framers fought to build," Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote.
大法官索尼娅·索托马约尔写道：“最高法院继续拆除建造者努力建造的教会和州之间的隔离墙。”
The ruling is the latest in a line of decisions from the Supreme Court that have favored religion-based discrimination claims.
这项裁决是最高法院支持基于宗教的歧视指控的一系列裁决中的最新一项。
The court is separately looking at the case of a football coach who says he has a First Amendment right to pray at midfield immediately after games.
最高法院正在单独调查一名足球教练的案件，这名教练表示，他有在比赛结束后立即在中场祈祷的权利，而这项权利是宪法第一修正案赋予的。
The court's decision on Tuesday immediately affects Maine and Vermont, a neighboring state with a similar program.
最高法院周二的裁决会立即影响到缅因州和佛蒙特州，佛蒙特州是缅因州的邻近州，该州也有类似的计划。
But the ruling could also fuel a renewed push for school choice programs in some of the states that have so far not directed public money to private, religious education.
但这项裁决也可能会使一些州重新推动择校计划，这些州到目前为止还没有将公共资金投入私立的宗教教育。
In the Maine case, two families wanted to send their children to Christian schools in Bangor and Waterville.
在缅因州的案例中，有两个家庭想把他们的孩子送到班戈和沃特维尔的基督教学校。
The schools, Bangor Christian School and Temple Academy, have said in court records that they do not accept gay, lesbian or transgender students and teachers.
班戈基督教学校和坦普尔学院在法庭记录中表示，它们不接受同性恋或跨性别学生和教师。
At the time, Maine officials said that religious schools are excluded from the program "because the education they provide is not equivalent to" public education.
当时，缅因州官员表示，宗教学校之所以被排除在该计划之外，是因为它们提供的教育不等同于公共教育。
The lawsuit was filed last year following a Supreme Court ruling saying that a Missouri program was wrong to deny money to a religious school for fixing a playground.
去年，最高法院裁定密苏里州的一个计划拒绝向一所宗教学校提供修缮操场的资金是错误的，随后该诉讼被提起。
That ruling opened the door for more cases aimed at changing rules about religious schools and public money.
这一裁决为更多旨在改变宗教学校和公共资金规则的案件打开了大门。
Last year, the Supreme Court ruled in a case from Montana that states do not have to permit public money to be used in private education.
去年，最高法院在蒙大拿州的一起案件中裁定，各州不必允许公共资金用于私立教育。
But they cannot keep religious schools out of such programs, once created.
但宗教学校一旦创立，就不能将其排除在此类计划之外。
I'm Dan Novak.
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译文为可可英语翻译，未经授权请勿转载！
