US Supreme Court to take up religious school dispute next term

Justices decline to take up Washington state case of florist sanctioned for refusing to provide flowers for gay wedding.

The US Supreme Court on Friday took up a challenge by two families with children attending Christian schools to a Maine tuition assistance program that bars taxpayer money from being used to pay for religious educational institutions. The nine-member Supreme Court, which has a 6-3 conservative majority, declined to take up the case of a Colorado florist who refused to provide services for a same-sex wedding, leaving in place a lower court ruling the florist broke anti-discrimination laws. Friday’s announcement of cases accepted and declined marks the end of the Supreme Court’s present term, which culminated in a major 6-3 ruling on ideological lines on Thursday that could make it easier for states to enact voting restrictions. The court’s next term will begin in October.