Agostini v. Felton

The Supreme Court's 1997 judgment in Agostini v. Felton essentially reversed the decision it had made 12 years earlier in Aguilar v. Felton (1985). In Aguilar, a divided Court held that permitting Title I teachers paid by the New York City Board of Education to provide remedial mathematics and language arts instruction on site in religious schools violated the Establishment Clause. The permanent injunction that a federal trial court issued on remand in Aguilar became the basis for the Court's review in 1997. Without the need for a new trial, the Agostini Court relied on Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 60(b)(5), which permits a review of prior injunctive relief where a significant change has occurred in the law. The facts were identical in Agostini and ...