OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Oklahoma’s Republican attorney general asked the state Supreme Court Tuesday to halt the creation of the nation’s first publicly funded Catholic charter school.
Attorney General Gentner Drummond cited the law and the state when the Oklahoma Statewide Virtual Charter School Board approved the Catholic Archdiocese of Oklahoma City’s application to establish the St. Isidore Catholic Virtual Charter of Seville in a 3-2 vote in June. and the federal constitution. school.
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“I think they betrayed their oath of office,” Drummond told the nine-person court. “And they knew they had betrayed their oath of office, because I told them if I did it, I would do it.”
Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond stands during the national anthem during the inauguration ceremony in Oklahoma City, January 9, 2023. Drummond petitioned the state Supreme Court on Tuesday, April 2, 2024, to halt the creation of the nation’s first publicly funded Catholic charter school. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
The case has been closely watched, as supporters of the school believe recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions show courts are open to directing public funds to religious organizations. There is.
One Oklahoma Superior Court judge said he has yet to use taxpayer funds for religious purposes, such as Medicaid funds for patients attending St. Anthony’s Hospital, a Catholic health care provider in Oklahoma City. asked Mr. Drummond.
Drummond said there is a clear difference between religious organizations, which are eligible to receive state funding for the services they provide, and Catholic charter schools, which become public entities through a vote of the school board. Ta.
“The state and the church are intertwined like never before,” Drummond said. He added that approving the school would pave the way for public schools to teach Islamic tenets and even Satanism.
St. Isidore’s attorney, Michael McGinley, argued that many private religious organizations receive state funding to provide services to students, and that denying the archdiocese’s application solely on religious grounds is unconstitutional. did.
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“We have a program that is open to everyone except religious groups,” he asserted. “Can not do that.”
McGinley said the online school has already received hundreds of applications and hopes to receive state funding by July 1. Classes are scheduled to begin in the fall. The school will be open to students from kindergarten through 12th grade throughout Oklahoma.
The court has not announced the timing of its ruling.
