Video: 'McCollum v. Board of Education' (Mar. 8, 1948, at 48:41)

(Monday, March 8, 1948) — The Supreme Court, in McCollum v. Board of Education, struck down today voluntary religious education classes in public school buildings during school hours, saying the program violated separation of church and state.

The 8-1 decision upheld the complaint of Vashti McCollum, a mother in Champaign, Illinois, an avowed atheist, who said that her son had been “embarrassed” by being the only child in his room not attending religious classes under a local plan.