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1986 Maine Attorney General Reports and Opinions 1 (1986)

handle is hein.sag/sagme0014 and id is 1 raw text is: JAMES E. TIERNEY 8 ATTORNEY GENERAL STATE OF MAINE DEPARTMENT OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL STATE HOUSE STATION 6 AUGUSTA, MAINE 04333 January 6, 1986 Honorable N. Paul Gauvreau 56 Tampa Street Lewiston, Maine 04240 Dear Senator Gauvreau: This will respond to your letter of September 13, 1985, in which you request an Opinion of this Department concerning the following questions: 1. May parochial school teachers apply for and receive Blaine House Scholars and Financial Assistance loans under the provisions of 20-A M.R.S.A. S 12505(2)? 2. Would passage of legislation applying the loan cancellation provisions of the Blaine House Scholars and Financial Assistance Program to parochial school teachers constitute enactment of a law respecting the establishment of religion and, thus, violate the First Amendment to the United States Constitution as made' applicable to the states by the Fourteenth Amendment? For the reasons discussed below, it is the Opinion of this Department that, pursuant to 20-A M.R.S.A..S 12505(2), parochial school teachers in Maine are eligible to apply for and receive loans under the Blaine House Scholars and Financial Assistance Act. This Department further concludes, however, that legislation applying the loan cancellation provisions of the Blaine House Scholars and Financial Assistance Program to teachers in parochial schools would, if enacted, violate the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.