What did Everson v. Board (1947) establish?

Everson v. Board of Education (1947) is a significant case in the context of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, particularly regarding the relationship between government and religion. The ruling established that public funds could be used for transportation costs to private schools, including religious ones. The Supreme Court determined that providing this kind of assistance did not violate the principle of separation of church and state, as it was aimed at helping parents with transportation and not at supporting religious education directly.

This case laid the groundwork for how public assistance could be provided to private education without breaching the Establishment Clause. The court emphasized that the government should remain neutral in matters of religion and that supporting transportation did not constitute an endorsement of religion.

Contrarily, the other options highlight different aspects of education and religion in the public sphere that were not central to the outcome of this case. For example, banning school-sponsored prayer and addressing the right to use public funds for private education occur in different legal contexts and were not the primary focus of Everson. Additionally, the case did not deal with delineating federal and state powers, which is a theme explored in other landmark decisions.