School District of the City of Grand Rapids et al. v. Ball et al.

Decided July 1, 1985. William Joseph Brennan Jr. delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 83-990 · 473 U.S. 373 (1985) · Cited 448 times

Holding

The Shared Time and Community Education programs have the "primary or principal" effect of advancing religion, and therefore violate the dictates of the Establishment Clause.

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 5–4.

“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.

• Meek v. Pittenger · 421 U.S. 349 (1975)
• Lemon v. Kurtzman · 403 U.S. 602 (1971)
• Wolman v. Walter · 433 U.S. 229 (1977)
• Committee for Public Education & Religious Liberty v. Nyquist · 413 U.S. 756 (1973)
• Everson v. Board of Ed. of Ewing · 330 U.S. 1 (1947)
• Zorach v. Clauson · 343 U.S. 306 (1952)
• Mueller v. Allen · 463 U.S. 388 (1983)
• Hunt v. McNair · 413 U.S. 734 (1973)
• Walz v. Tax Comm'n of City of New York · 397 U.S. 664 (1970)
• Illinois Ex Rel. McCollum v. Board of Ed. of School Dist. No. 71, Champaign Cty. · 333 U.S. 203 (1948)
• Engel v. Vitale · 370 U.S. 421 (1962)
• Board of Ed. of Central School Dist. No. 1 v. Allen · 392 U.S. 236 (1968)
• Roemer v. Board of Public Works of Md. · 426 U.S. 736 (1976)
• Committee for Public Education & Religious Liberty v. Regan · 444 U.S. 646 (1980)
• Levitt v. Committee for Public Education & Religious Liberty · 413 U.S. 472 (1973)
• Sloan v. Lemon · 413 U.S. 825 (1973)
• Widmar v. Vincent · 454 U.S. 263 (1981)
• Lynch v. Donnelly · 465 U.S. 668 (1984)
• Marsh v. Chambers · 463 U.S. 783 (1983)
• Tilton v. Richardson · 403 U.S. 672 (1971)
• Valley Forge Christian College v. Americans United for Separation of Church and State, Inc. · 454 U.S. 464 (1982)
• Flast v. Cohen · 392 U.S. 83 (1968)
• McGowan v. Maryland · 366 U.S. 420 (1961)
• Wallace v. Jaffree · 472 U.S. 38 (1985)
• Stone v. Graham · 449 U.S. 39 (1980)
• Larkin v. Grendel's Den, Inc. · 459 U.S. 116 (1982)

Cited by

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

• Agostini v. Felton · 521 U.S. 203 (1997)
• Mitchell v. Helms · 530 U.S. 793 (2000)
• Zobrest v. Catalina Foothills School District · 509 U.S. 1 (1993)
• Bowen v. Kendrick · 487 U.S. 589 (1988)
• Edwards v. Aguillard · 482 U.S. 578 (1987)
• County of Allegheny v. American Civil Liberties Union · 492 U.S. 573 (1989)
• Rosenberger v. Rector & Visitors of University of Virginia · 515 U.S. 819 (1995)
• Zelman v. Simmons-Harris · 536 U.S. 639 (2002)
• Board of Ed. of Kiryas Joel Village School Dist. v. Grumet · 512 U.S. 687 (1994)
• Witters v. Washington Department of Services for the Blind · 474 U.S. 481 (1986)
• Lee v. Weisman · 505 U.S. 577 (1992)
• Good News Club v. Milford Central School · 533 U.S. 98 (2001)
• Espinoza v. Montana Dept. of Revenue · 591 U.S. 464 (2020)
• Texas Monthly, Inc. v. Bullock · 489 U.S. 1 (1989)
• Church of the Lukumi Babalu Aye, Inc. v. City of Hialeah · 508 U.S. 520 (1993)
• Lamb's Chapel v. Center Moriches Union Free School District · 508 U.S. 384 (1993)
• Capitol Square Review & Advisory Board v. Pinette · 515 U.S. 753 (1995)
• Board of Ed. of Westside Community Schools (Dist. 66) v. Mergens · 496 U.S. 226 (1990)
• Corporation of the Presiding Bishop of Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints v. Amos · 483 U.S. 327 (1987)
• Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization · 597 U.S. 215 (2022)
• Van Orden v. Perry · 545 U.S. 677 (2005)
• 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 (1985). 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).