Wolman v. Walter 433 U.S. 229 (1977)
WOLMAN v. WALTER 433 U.S. 229 (1977)
Ohio's aid plan for independent schools had six components: (1) the loan of textbooks; (2) the supply of standardized testing and scoring material; (3) the provision of diagnostic services aimed at identifying speech, hearing, and psychological problems; (4) the provision, off nonpublic school premises, of therapeutic, guidance, and remedial services; (5) the loan to pupils of instructional materials such as slide projectors, tape recorders, maps, and scientific gear; and (6) the provision of transportation for field trips similar to the transportation provided public school students.
Justice harry blackmun delivered what was in part an opinion of the Supreme Court and in part a plurality opinion in which only Chief Justice warren e. burger, Justice potter stewart, and Justice lewis f. powell joined.
The Court upheld the loan of textbooks, the supply of testing materials, the therapeutic services, and the provision of diagnostic services on non-public school premises. The Court found unconstitutional the provisions for lending secular instructional materials and for field trip transportation.
This case indicated the extent to which the "wall between church and state" was in fact a blurred, indistinct, and variable barrier.
Richard E. Morgan
(1986)