Supreme Court asked to consider Oklahoma religious charter school's case

Oklahoma’s charter school board says it has asked the Supreme Court to reverse a decision ruling the nation’s first publicly funded religious charter school unconstitutional. 

The board’s petition asking the high court to take up the case could tee up a major dispute regarding the separation of church and state. 

“Both questions presented raise immensely important constitutional issues,” the petition reads. 

“Their resolution will significantly impact Americans’ freedoms and our nation’s educational system. This case also presents a clean vehicle in which to address them,” it continues. 

The St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School was first rejected by Oklahoma’s Charter School Board back in April 2023, before its application was then approved months later.  

Gentner Drummond, the state’s Republican attorney general who had warned about the school’s legality, sued. The case was quickly taken up by the Oklahoma Supreme Court, which ruled the religious charter school is unconstitutional. 

“The St. Isidore Contract violates state and federal law and is unconstitutional,” the court ruled.  

The very idea of the school caused a lot of controversy, even within the charter school movement, which sees St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School as undercutting attempts for charter schools to be treated like public ones.  

“The Oklahoma Supreme Court’s decision reassures all Oklahoma families that their students’ constitutional rights are not sacrificed when they choose to attend a public charter school,” said Eric Paisner, acting CEO for the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools.  

Oklahoma’s charter school board is being represented at the Supreme Court by Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), a Christian legal powerhouse that has notched more than a dozen Supreme Court wins. ADF also led the challenge against mifepristone, the common abortion pill, and regularly gets involved in prominent cases involving LGBTQ protections and religious liberty. 

“These decisions destabilize the widely popular and quickly growing charter-school movement, which, because of its popularity — is no stranger to opposition,” ADF said of the lower ruling. 

The Catholic school itself is expected to file a separate petition at the Supreme Court urging it to take up the case, court filings show. 

ADF’s attorneys said the ruling in Oklahoma “poses a grave threat to fundamental freedoms” and cements a split among the lower courts. 

“Those with progressive values may send their children to progressive charter schools on the state’s dime,” the petition reads. “Those who subscribe to the principles of Montessori education may send their children to Montessori charter schools for free.”  

“But religious parents may not avail themselves of this same benefit because the would-be charter school they desire is religious. The Free Exercise Clause firmly rebukes such anti-religious discrimination,” it continued.