Supreme Court weighs fate of first religious charter school
The Supreme Court case over the first religious charter school could potentially reshape the boundaries between church and state.
The Supreme Court case over the first religious charter school could potentially reshape the boundaries between church and state.
The Supreme Court case over the first religious charter school could potentially reshape the boundaries between church and state.
The Supreme Court heard arguments on Wednesday in a case that will determine whether the nation鈥檚 first publicly funded religious charter school can operate in Oklahoma.
The ruling could have ripple effects nationwide. At least 45 states and D.C. currently have charter school laws on the books. The taxpayer-funded programs are subject to state supervision but are generally granted more autonomy than traditional public schools.
The Supreme Court case is the culmination of a long legal battle over St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School. Supporters of the proposed school argue excluding it from Oklahoma鈥檚 charter system amounts to religious discrimination.
鈥淲hen the state creates a program or a public benefit, it can't exclude groups of people just because they are religious, and that is exactly what we have here,鈥� said James Campbell, who represented Oklahoma鈥檚 charter school board before the Supreme Court on Wednesday.
Justice Brett Kavanaugh, one of the court鈥檚 conservatives, appeared sympathetic to that argument. He said the exclusion 鈥渟eems like rank discrimination against religion.鈥� He also pointed to other recent rulings that have allowed public dollars to flow to religious entities.
鈥淚 think those are some of the most important cases we鈥檝e had, of saying you can鈥檛 treat religious people and religious institutions and religious speech as second class in the United States,鈥� Kavanaugh said.
Liberal justices pushed back, noting that Oklahoma鈥檚 charter law aims to provide only secular education.
鈥淪o, as I see it, it's not being denied a benefit that everyone else gets. It's being denied a benefit that no one else gets, which is the ability to establish a religious public school,鈥� said Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson.
Oklahoma鈥檚 Supreme Court previously found that allowing a charter school with overtly Catholic teachings would violate the First Amendment鈥檚 separation of church and state.
Gregory Garre, who represented Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond on Wednesday, said a Supreme Court ruling siding with St. Isidore could upend rules governing charter schools across the country.
"It would result in the astounding rule that states not only may, but must fund and create public religious schools,鈥� Garre said.
Justice Amy Coney Barrett recused herself from the case, leaving the door open for a possible 4-4 tie when the Supreme Court rules this summer. That outcome would leave the state court鈥檚 decision in place but leave the issue unresolved at the national level.