In the case of Aguilar et al. v. Felton et al., 1984, the U.S Supreme Court ruled that public funding for remedial education services to disadvantaged children in religious schools violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. The New York City Board of Education had used federal funds under Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to pay salaries for public employees who taught in parochial schools. The court held that this arrangement resulted in an excessive entanglement between church and state because it required extensive government monitoring to ensure teachers did not include religious content in their instruction, thus violating constitutional principles separating church and state.

In the dissenting opinion for Aguilar v. Felton, Justice White argued that the majority's decision was inconsistent with previous rulings and unnecessarily broadened the interpretation of the Establishment Clause. He contended that there was no evidence to suggest that public school teachers would promote their religious beliefs while teaching in parochial schools under Title I of Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). Furthermore, he believed this ruling could potentially invalidate other federal programs providing aid to students attending religious institutions. The dissent also pointed out that monitoring by public authorities did not equate to excessive entanglement between church and state but rather ensured compliance with ESEA requirements. Thus, according to Justice White, such oversight should not be considered a violation of First Amendment rights as it served a secular purpose without advancing or inhibiting religion.