862
O'Connor, J., concurring in judgment
Louisiana) requires all nonpublic schools to submit signed assurances that they will use Chapter 2 aid only to supplement and not to supplant non-Federal funds, and that the instructional materials and equipment "will only be used for secular, neutral and nonideological purposes." App. 260a- 261a; see also id., at 120a. Although there is some dispute concerning the mandatory nature of these assurances, Dan Lewis, the director of Louisiana's Chapter 2 program, testified that all of the State's nonpublic schools had thus far been willing to sign the assurances, and that the State retained the power to cut off aid to any school that breached an assurance. Id., at 122a-123a. The Louisiana SEA also conducts monitoring visits to each of the State's LEA's—and one or two of the nonpublic schools covered by the relevant LEA— once every three years. Id., at 95a-96a. In addition to other tasks performed on such visits, SEA representatives conduct a random review of a school's library books for religious content. Id., at 99a.
At the local level, the Jefferson Parish Public School System (JPPSS) requires nonpublic schools seeking Chapter 2 aid to submit applications, complete with specific project plans, for approval. Id., at 127a; id., at 194a-203a (sample application). The JPPSS then conducts annual monitoring visits to each of the nonpublic schools receiving Chapter 2 aid. Id., at 141a-142a. On each visit, a JPPSS representative meets with a contact person from the nonpublic school and reviews with that person the school's project plan and the manner in which the school has used the Chapter 2 materials and equipment to support its plan. Id., at 142a, 149a. The JPPSS representative also reminds the contact person of the prohibition on the use of Chapter 2 aid for religious purposes, id., at 149a, and conducts a random sample of the school's Chapter 2 materials and equipment to ensure that they are appropriately labeled and that the school has maintained a record of their usage, id., at 142a-144a. (Although the plurality and Justice Souter claim that compliance
Page: Index Previous 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 NextLast modified: October 4, 2007