The Supreme Court will hear arguments Wednesday in a case that could greenlight the first openly religious charter school funded by taxpayers, with sweeping implications for both private and public schools moving forward.
The St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School in Oklahoma is looking to become the nation’s first religious charter school after its creation was ruled unconstitutional by the state’s highest court, which sided with parents and civil rights groups who see it as a clear-cut violation of the separation of church and state.
“The government should not be creating public schools that indoctrinate students in any religion, even my own; doing so violates our religious freedom. Children should not be made to feel unwelcome in public schools because of their beliefs. Doing so violates the principle, the bedrock principle, of religious freedom,” said Rev. Mitch Randall, CEO of Good Faith Media and a plaintiff in one of the lawsuits challenging St. Isidore.
The justices will grapple with the fundamental nature of charter schools: In what ways are they — or are they not — equivalent to public institutions?
Charter schools and public schools are similar in that they are tuition-free, anyone may join and they are funded with taxpayer dollars. The key difference is charter schools are privately operated, with most states, including Oklahoma, requiring they are run in a nonsectarian way.
That state law triggered the battle after the Oklahoma attorney general said a religious charter school would be illegal, a conclusion agreed with by the state Supreme Court.
“Because it is a governmental entity and a state actor, St. Isidore cannot ignore the mandates of the Establishment Clause, yet a central component of St. Isidore’s educational philosophy is to establish and operate the school as a Catholic school,” that court ruled.
The school’s defenders — including Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt (R), State Superintendent Ryan Walters, a coalition of eight GOP-led states and various religious freedom groups — appealed, arguing it is illegal to prevent religious institutions from running their own charter schools.
“St. Isidore is committed to serving all Oklahoma students, regardless of their faith. It promises to admit any students of any faith or no faith at all, providing a flexible, accessible and academically rigorous option, which is especially valuable for families in rural communities who often have limited choices. The Oklahoma Attorney General is attempting to exclude St. Isidore from the charter school program simply because it’s religious. That’s unconstitutional. People of faith are not second class citizens,” said Jim Campbell, an attorney representing the state’s charter school board.
“At its core, this case asks a very simple question, can a state create a charter school program and invite all private organizations to participate except those that are religious? Or, in other words, can Oklahoma discriminate based on religion? The First Amendment answers both of those questions with a clear and resounding no,” Campbell added.
In recent years, the conservative-majority Supreme Court has been increasingly friendly toward public funding of religious initiatives.
The justices in 2017 ruled in favor of a church preschool that was excluded from a state program that aimed to help preschools revamp their playgrounds.
In 2020, the high court said Montana had to allow a tax-credit program for private school scholarships to also go toward religious private schools.
And in 2022, the Supreme Court ruled Maine had to allow a program that allowed public funds to pay for private school tuition to also go to religious private schools.
But all these programs were already available to other private institutions, just not religious ones, while St. Isidore is looking for public funds typically reserved only for public schools.
“Those with progressive values may send their children to progressive charter schools on the state’s dime,” the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), a Christian legal powerhouse supporting the charter school board, said in a petition to the Supreme Court. “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 added.
The fight comes as laws have popped up around the country to insert more Christianity in public schools.
In Oklahoma, Walters, the head of the state’s Education Department, is sending Bibles to all classrooms and pushing curriculum that includes Bible lessons, while Louisiana is currently fighting to enforce a law that puts the Ten Commandments in each classroom.
“So, so much is at stake. Our children’s ability to learn, our children’s equality, democracy — because public schools are teaching our children how to coexist in peace across our differences in a pluralistic society, right? All of those things are at risk,” said Rachel Laser, president and CEO of Americans United for Separation of Church and State.
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