Parochial School Aid
Chapter 2 of the Education Consolidation and Improvement Act of 1981 provides for the allocation of funds for educational materials and equipment, including library materials and computer software and hardware, to public and private elementary and secondary schools to implement "secular, neutral, and nonideological" programs.
Impact on Missouri
Article I, Section 7 of the Missouri Constitution prohibits use of public funds to aid, directly or indirectly, any church or religious denomination or any church-based school. For this reason, programs in Missouri providing materials to private and parochial schools have been held to be in violation of this stricter state standard on separation of church and state.