Mueller v. Allen

In Mueller v. Allen, 463 U.S. 388, 395, 103 S. Ct. 3062, 77 L. Ed. 2d 721 (1983), the Court upheld tax deductions for educational expenses of parents who chose to send their children to public or private, secular or nonsecular, schools even though apparently the nonsecular schools could discriminate in admission of students on the basis of religious belief without violating state law. 463 U.S. at 390 and n.1. The Court did not address that factor in Mueller. As Mueller explained, however, the tax program upheld there applied to all students, public and private, not to just private school students, thus distinguishing Mueller from Nyquist. Id. at 397-98. Moreover, Mueller also pointed out that there the tax deductions were granted directly to parents who chose the schools their children attended. Id. at 399-400.