A Maine law that bans families from a student aid program if they choose to send their children to religious schools is flatly unconstitutional and should be struck down, a seemingly sympathetic Supreme Court heard this morning. The program at issue provides tuition assistance for students who don’t have a local public school so they can attend private institutions, as long as the funding is not used for religious education. The case is Carson v. Makin, court file 20-1088, an appeal from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit. The petitioners are David and Amy Carson, as parents and litigation guardians of their child, O.C., and Troy and Angela Nelson, as parents and litigation guardians of their children, A.N. and R.N. The respondent is A. Pender Makin in her official capacity as Commissioner of the Maine Department of Education. The hearing went on for 116 minutes, well over …