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Oklahoma Approves First Religious Charter School in the U.S. Oklahoma Approves First Religious Charter School in the U.S.
(about 2 hours later)
The nation’s first religious charter school was approved in Oklahoma on Monday, handing a victory to Christian conservatives, but opening the door to a constitutional battle over whether taxpayer dollars can directly fund religious schools. Oklahoma approved what would be the nation’s first religious charter school on Monday, handing a victory to Christian conservatives but opening the door to a constitutional battle over whether taxpayer dollars can directly fund religious schools.
The online school, St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School, would be run by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Oklahoma City and the Diocese of Tulsa, with religious teachings embedded in the curriculum, including in math and reading. Yet as a charter school — a type of public school that is independently managed — it would be funded by taxpayer dollars. The online school, St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School, is to be run by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Oklahoma City and the Diocese of Tulsa, with religious teachings embedded in the curriculum.
After a nearly three-hour meeting, and despite concerns raised by its legal counsel, the Oklahoma Statewide Virtual Charter School Board approved the school in a 3-to-2 vote, including a “yes” vote from a new member who was appointed on Friday. But as a charter school — a type of public school that is independently managed — it would be funded by taxpayer dollars.
The relatively obscure board is made up of appointees by Gov. Kevin Stitt, a Republican who supports religious charter schools, and leaders of the Republican-controlled State Legislature. After a nearly three-hour meeting, and despite concerns raised by its legal counsel, the Oklahoma Statewide Virtual Charter School Board approved the school in a 3-to-2 vote, including a yes vote from a member who was appointed on Friday. The relatively obscure board is made up of appointees by Gov. Kevin Stitt, a Republican who supports religious charter schools, and leaders of the Republican-controlled State Legislature.
The approval — which is almost certain to be challenged in court — comes amid a broader conservative push to allow taxpayer dollars to go toward religious schools, including in the form of universal school vouchers, which have been approved in five states in the last year. The movement has been bolstered by recent rulings by the U.S. Supreme Court, which has increasingly signaled its support for directing taxpayer money to religious schools. The decision sets the stage for a high-profile legal fight over the barrier between church and state in education, at a time when other aspects of public education are being challenged. Seizing on debates over parents’ rights, Republican lawmakers, including in Oklahoma, have increasingly pushed for alternatives to public schools, such as vouchers and tax credits, which offer subsidies to parents to help pay for private tuition, often at religious schools.
The decision in Oklahoma sets the stage for a high-profile legal fight that could have wide-ranging implications for charter schools, which make up 8 percent of public schools in the United States. While some government money already goes to religious schools — for example, Hasidic schools in New York City receive public money through various programs while also charging tuition — St. Isidore would be fully paid for by the government.
Opponents had lined up against the proposal, arguing that it was a brazen and messy melding of church and state, and one that ran afoul of the public nature of charter schools. Within minutes of the vote, Americans United for Separation of Church and State announced that it was preparing legal action to fight the decision.
St. Isidore’s organizers hope any legal challenge will press the courts to definitively answer whether government money can be directly spent on religious schools. “It’s hard to think of a clearer violation of the religious freedom of Oklahoma taxpayers and public-school families,” said Rachel Laser, the group’s president and chief executive. “This is a sea change for American democracy.”
“We invite the challenge, for the sake of the country and answering that question,” said Brett Farley, executive director of the Catholic Conference of Oklahoma, which represents the Catholic Church on policy issues and is behind the proposal. Brett Farley, the executive director of the Catholic Conference of Oklahoma, which represents the Catholic Church on policy issues in Oklahoma and was behind the proposal, said he welcomed a legal challenge, pointing to recent rulings by the U.S. Supreme Court that have signaled support for directing taxpayer money to religious schools.
In Supreme Court rulings in 2020 and 2022, the court ruled that religious schools could not be excluded from state programs that allowed parents to send their children to private schools using government-financed scholarship or tuition programs. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. wrote that while states were not required to support religious education, if a state chooses to subsidize any private schools, it may not discriminate against religious ones. “We believe we are in the right,” he said, adding, “This is a victory for parents, for school choice and for religious liberty.”
Supporters in Oklahoma applied similar arguments to St. Isidore, contending that excluding religious schools from charter funding is a violation of the First Amendment’s protection of religious freedom. In key Supreme Court rulings in 2020 and 2022, the court ruled that religious schools could not be excluded from state programs that allow parents to send their children to private schools using government-financed scholarship or tuition programs. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. wrote that while states were not required to support religious education, if a state chose to subsidize any private schools, it could not discriminate against religious ones.
“Not only may a charter school in Oklahoma be religious but indeed it would be unlawful to prohibit the operation of such a school,” the school’s organizers wrote in its application. Supporters in Oklahoma applied similar arguments to St. Isidore, contending that excluding religious schools from charter funding was a violation of the First Amendment’s protection of religious freedom.
The move for a religious charter school was opposed by a range of groups, including pastors and religious leaders in Oklahoma, who feared a blurring of the separation of church and state. Leaders in the charter school movement were also opposed. “Not only may a charter school in Oklahoma be religious, but indeed it would be unlawful to prohibit the operation of such a school,” the school’s application stated.
“Charter schools were conceived as, and have always been, innovative public schools,” Nina Rees, president and chief executive of the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, said in April. She added that, as public schools, charters cannot teach religious instruction. The move was opposed by a range of groups, including pastors and religious leaders in Oklahoma, advocates for public schools and members of the charter school movement.
A key legal question is whether charter schools are “state actors,” representing the government, or “private actors,” more like a government contractor. That question is central to another case, out of North Carolina, which the Supreme Court is weighing whether to take up. “The Archdiocese of Oklahoma City is trying to make charter schools into something they are not,” said Nina Rees, the chief executive of the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools.
In Oklahoma, the state board that oversees virtual charter schools had been under intense political pressure, with top state Republicans disagreeing over whether a religious charter school was allowable. Since they arose in the 1990s, charter schools have been public schools funded with taxpayer money. They are meant to offer innovation and flexibility; students can enroll from any school zone, for example. In 2020, about 8 percent of public schools in the United States were charter schools.
At a board meeting in April, board members debated the matter extensively and fretted whether they could face personal legal challenges over their decision. A key legal question is whether charter schools are “state actors,” representing the government, or “private actors,” more akin to government contractors. That question is central to another case, out of North Carolina, which the Supreme Court is weighing whether to take up.
With its application approved, St. Isidore, named after the patron saint of the internet, is one step closer to opening. In Oklahoma, the state board had been under intense political pressure. During Monday’s meeting, the chairman of the board, Robert Franklin, had been outwardly wary. “This is unchartered territory,” he said, before voting against approving the school.
It would open no sooner than fall 2024, offering online classes to about 500 students in kindergarten through 12th grade. Top state Republicans had disagreed over whether a religious charter school was allowable.
After the vote, Governor Stitt hailed the board’s “courage” and declared, “This is a win for religious liberty and education freedom.”
But the newly elected Republican attorney general, Gentner Drummond, had opposed the charter school. “It’s extremely disappointing that board members violated their oath in order to fund religious schools with our tax dollars,” he said on Monday.
Oklahoma has about two dozen charter schools, with many charter students getting their education online. St. Isidore, named after the patron saint of the internet, would not open sooner than the fall of 2024, offering online classes to about 500 students in kindergarten through 12th grade.