Supreme Court Decision on Religious Charter Schools

On Thursday, the evenly divided Supreme Court concluded that states are not allowed to finance religious charter schools, which means a potential landmark shift in K-12 education has been avoided.

The 4-4 split effectively upholds a ruling from the Oklahoma Supreme Court, confirming that both state legislation and the U.S. Constitution bar taxpayer money from being used for religious schools.

Justice Amy Coney Barrett, who has a lengthy background teaching at Notre Dame’s law school, recused herself from this case due to her connection with St. Isidor of Seville Catholic Virtual School, which was represented by the school’s religious freedom clinic.

Recently, in June 2023, five virtual charter school boards across Oklahoma granted approval for St. Isidor’s operational applications, with the votes being either three to two or two to three.

Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond took legal action against the board, claiming that the approval was unlawful. He argued it would lead to taxpayer funding for various forms of religious indoctrination, including, as he specified, radical Islam and the Church of Satan.

The Trump administration, alongside Oklahoma GOP Governor Kevin Stitt, supported both the Charter School Board and St. Isidor in this dispute.