The US Supreme Court has agreed to review a controversial case involving the nation’s first publicly funded religious charter school in Oklahoma. The court will examine whether the state’s approval of a Catholic charter school violates the First Amendment.
The case centers on a decision by the Oklahoma Supreme Court, which ruled that a taxpayer-funded religious charter school would violate the part of the First Amendment that prohibits government from establishing a religion. The state’s top court invalidated the approval of a charter school application by the Catholic Church in Oklahoma.
In recent years, the Supreme Court has shown a willingness to allow public funds to support religious entities. This case will test the boundaries of that trend. The case is expected to be argued in late April and decided by early summer. Justice Amy Coney Barrett will not participate in the case, though no reason was given.
The Oklahoma Supreme Court’s decision came after a 3-2 vote by the Statewide Virtual Charter School Board in 2023 to approve the application for the St. Isidore of Seville Virtual Charter School. The K-12 online school, which planned to start classes last fall, aimed to evangelize its students in the Catholic faith.
A group of Oklahoma parents, faith leaders, and a public education nonprofit sued to block the school. According to Justice James Winchester, who wrote the majority opinion, “Under Oklahoma law, a charter school is a public school and must be nonsectarian. However, St. Isidore will evangelize the Catholic school curriculum while sponsored by the state.”
Justice Dana Kuehn dissented, arguing that excluding the school based on its religious affiliation would violate the First Amendment’s protection of religious freedom.
The Supreme Court’s decision to intervene was welcomed by the Alliance Defending Freedom, a Christian legal advocacy group representing the state board. “There’s great irony in state officials who claim to be in favor of religious liberty discriminating against St. Isidore because of its Catholic beliefs,” said Jim Campbell, the group’s chief legal counsel.
Opponents of the charter school, including the American Civil Liberties Union, urged the Supreme Court to uphold the state court’s ruling. “The law is clear: Charter schools are public schools and must be secular and open to all students,” they said in a statement.
The case has also divided Oklahoma’s Republican leadership. Governor Kevin Stitt supports the school, while Attorney General Gentner Drummond warned that the Catholic charter school would violate the Constitution.
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