U.S. Supreme Court examines religious school funding in major rights case

The Supreme Court building exterior seen in Washington, U.S., January 21, 2020. REUTERS/Sarah Silbiger.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Supreme Court justices are poised to tackle a major religious rights case on Wednesday over whether states can bar public funding of religious institutions in a dispute over a Montana tax credit programme that could benefit private religious schools.

The justices will hear about an hour of arguments in an appeal by three parents of students who attend a Christian school in Kalispell, Montana. They are challenging a lower court ruling that struck down the tax credit programme as a violation of the state constitution's ban on government aid to religious schools and churches.