The U.S. Supreme Court rules that states must allow religious schools to participate in programs that provide scholarships to students at private schools. The decision is the latest in a series of Supreme Court rulings that the free exercise of religion bars the government from treating religious groups differently from secular ones. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. wrote the majority opinion in the 5-4 ruling in Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue. “A state need not subsidize private education,” Roberts wrote. “But once a state decides to do so, it cannot disqualify some private schools solely because they are religious.”