Meek et al. v. Pittenger, Secretary of Education, et al.

Decided May 19, 1975. Potter Stewart delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 73-1765 · 421 U.S. 349 (1975) · Cited 407 times

Holding

Act 194 and all but the textbook loan provisions of Act 195 violate the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment as made applicable to the States by the Fourteenth.

The Court’s statement of the holding, from the opinion’s syllabus. The syllabus is prepared by the Reporter of Decisions and is not part of the opinion of the Court — read the official opinion for authority.

How the Justices voted

Decided 6–3.

“Concurring” means agreeing with the outcome; any split shown is the Court’s judgment, not each Justice’s reasoning. Source: the Supreme Court Database (Spaeth et al.), Washington University.

Precedents cited

Supreme Court decisions this opinion relies on, ordered by how often it cites each. Cases in our collection link through; others are named.

• Lemon v. Kurtzman · 403 U.S. 602 (1971)
• Committee for Public Education & Religious Liberty v. Nyquist · 413 U.S. 756 (1973)
• Board of Ed. of Central School Dist. No. 1 v. Allen · 392 U.S. 236 (1968)
• Everson v. Board of Ed. of Ewing · 330 U.S. 1 (1947)
• Zorach v. Clauson · 343 U.S. 306 (1952)
• Sloan v. Lemon · 413 U.S. 825 (1973)
• Walz v. Tax Comm'n of City of New York · 397 U.S. 664 (1970)
• Edelman v. Jordan · 415 U.S. 651 (1974)
• Cantwell v. Connecticut · 310 U.S. 296 (1940)
• Flast v. Cohen · 392 U.S. 83 (1968)
• Sierra Club v. Morton · 405 U.S. 727 (1972)
• Murdock v. Pennsylvania · 319 U.S. 105 (1943)
• Epperson v. Arkansas · 393 U.S. 97 (1968)
• Tilton v. Richardson · 403 U.S. 672 (1971)
• Lane v. Wilson · 307 U.S. 268 (1939)
• Edwards v. California · 314 U.S. 160 (1941)
• Hunt v. McNair · 413 U.S. 734 (1973)

Cited by

Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.

• Mitchell v. Helms · 530 U.S. 793 (2000)
• Wolman v. Walter · 433 U.S. 229 (1977)
• School District of Grand Rapids v. Ball · 473 U.S. 373 (1985)
• Aguilar v. Felton · 473 U.S. 402 (1985)
• Committee for Public Education & Religious Liberty v. Regan · 444 U.S. 646 (1980)
• Mueller v. Allen · 463 U.S. 388 (1983)
• Zobrest v. Catalina Foothills School District · 509 U.S. 1 (1993)
• Agostini v. Felton · 521 U.S. 203 (1997)
• Bowen v. Kendrick · 487 U.S. 589 (1988)
• Zelman v. Simmons-Harris · 536 U.S. 639 (2002)
• Wallace v. Jaffree · 472 U.S. 38 (1985)
• Roemer v. Board of Public Works of Md. · 426 U.S. 736 (1976)
• Edwards v. Aguillard · 482 U.S. 578 (1987)
• Rosenberger v. Rector & Visitors of University of Virginia · 515 U.S. 819 (1995)
• Lynch v. Donnelly · 465 U.S. 668 (1984)
• County of Allegheny v. American Civil Liberties Union · 492 U.S. 573 (1989)
• McDaniel v. Paty · 435 U.S. 618 (1978)
• Hunt v. Washington State Apple Advertising Commission · 432 U.S. 333 (1977)
• National Labor Relations Board v. Catholic Bishop · 440 U.S. 490 (1979)
• Tony and Susan Alamo Foundation v. Secretary of Labor · 471 U.S. 290 (1985)
• Texas Monthly, Inc. v. Bullock · 489 U.S. 1 (1989)
• Witters v. Washington Department of Services for the Blind · 474 U.S. 481 (1986)
• Shurtleff v. Boston · 596 U.S. 243 (2022)

Official text

Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)

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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1975). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-07-03. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).