Friday, Mar. 22, 2024
Has Oklahoma approved the first religious charter school in the US?
St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Charter School would become the first state-funded religious school in the U.S., if it withstands court challenges. As a charter school, the K-12 virtual school would be fully taxpayer-funded, but run independently by the Catholic Archdiocese of Oklahoma City. The school, which will embed Catholic teachings in curricula, stated they would not discriminate against applicants based on religion, gender, or sexual orientation.
Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond filed a lawsuit against Oklahoma’s Statewide Virtual Charter School Board’s June 2023 approval, alleging violations of separation of church and state clauses in U.S. and state constitutions. The Oklahoma Supreme Court is set to hear arguments on April 2, 2024.
In 2020 and 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that religious schools must be included in government scholarship programs funding private education, stating that if a state supports private schooling, it cannot discriminate against religious schools.
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