Abe Fortas

“ It is misleading to say, as the majority opinion does, that the New York 'law merely makes available to all children the benefits of a general program to lend school books free of charge.' (Ante, at 243.) This is not a 'general' program. It is a specific program to use state funds to buy books prescribed by sectarian schools which, in New York, are primarily Catholic, Jewish, and Lutheran sponsored schools. It could be called a 'general' program only if the school books made available to all children were precisely the same-the books selected for and used in the public schools. ”

“ As my Brother DOUGLAS points out, despite the transparent camouflage that the books are furnished to students, the reality is that they are selected and their use is prescribed by the sectarian authorities. ”

“ The majority opinion of the Court upholds the New York statute by ignoring a vital aspect of it. Public funds are used to buy, for students in sectarian schools, textbooks which are selected and prescribed by the sectarian schools themselves. ”