It's time for a broader offensive against constitutional provisions that bar spending on religious institutions, Oklahoma's attorney general told a room full of educational choice advocates this morning.

Scott Pruit recently helped defend a special needs voucher his home state, which was challenged under a so-called Blaine Amendment that bars public spending for "sectarian" purposes. The state Supreme Court upheld the program in a unanimous decision after finding it served a public purpose, rather than a religious one.

But Pruitt, addressing the American Federation for Children's national policy summit in Washington, said similar provisions in other states could create a legal "impediment" to parental choice.

"I think there needs to be [ballot] initiatives in those states, and/or legislative action, to take the Blaine Amendments off the books," he said. Religious institutions, he added, should be on a "level playing field" with secular ones.

A 2012 effort to take Florida's prohibition off the books received little financial backing, but it faced organized opposition and unfounded allegations that its primary aim was to clear a constitutional path for school vouchers. Voters ultimately rejected it. (more…)