Contest over Catholic charter school before Supreme Court might open path for publicly-funded religious educational institutions
A Controversial Test Case Shakes Up the School Choice Movement
Soon, the Supreme Court will dive into a blockbuster dispute, potentially reshaping the education landscape everywhere. On the table? The nation's very first religious charter school, a controversial move that critics say is causing a "crisis of identity" in the school choice movement. The outcome could expand taxpayer funding for religious education, giving powerful religious groups the upper hand.
Welcome to the battle over St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School in Oklahoma. Public school officials, traditional charter school advocates, and state's Republican attorney general stand tall against these tendentious religious groups, who claim a series of recent Supreme Court decisions have already laid the groundwork for their win.
As of 2024-25 school year, around 8,000 charter schools are buzzing in the United States, providing alternative options to traditional public schools. Created in the 1990s, charter schools aim to be more innovative and less regulated, serving 3.8 million students. But what happens when religion enters the equation?
Ruling in favor of St. Isidore could essentially reclassify charter schools as private entities, even though most state laws, like Oklahoma's, categorize them as public schools. This could open the door to more religious charter schools applying for funding, critics warn, or it could prompt restrictions that could eventually lead to the extinction of these schools.
The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools has expressed grave concerns about the case, calling it an "existential threat" not just to the essence of public charter schools but to their continued existence. On the flip side, supporters of St. Isidore, like Rachel Laser of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, view the school's opening as a "dangerous sea change" for our democracy.
The Archdiocese of Oklahoma City and the Diocese of Tulsa created the K-12 virtual school named after the informal patron saint of the internet. They argue that the school should be allowed to join the state's charter school program, just like private contractors working for the military aren't considered public entities. After all, they point out, a series of recent Supreme Court decisions indicates the court has consistently sided with religious groups in similar disputes.
Take the 2017 case of a Lutheran church in Missouri fighting for a competitive state grant for playground resurfacing, described by Chief Justice John Roberts as "odious" to our Constitution. More recently, the court ruled that Maine could not exclude religious schools from a public tuition assistance program. Clearly, the court's conservative majority favors religious institutions when it comes to the government's role in funding education.
Stay tuned as the Supreme Court unfolds this high-stakes drama. But beware, for the ramifications of their decision might ripple across the nation. Will the court expand taxpayer funding for religion, or will the prevailing church-state separation remain intact? Only time will tell.
- Regardless of the outcome, this case has already sparked catastrophizing among education-and-self-development advocates, with the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools referring to it as an existential threat to the very essence of public charter schools.
- The Archdiocese of Oklahoma City and the Diocese of Tulsa argue that St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School should be allowed to join the state's charter school program, just like general-news suggests that private contractors working for the military aren't considered public entities.
- In the 2017 case of a Lutheran church in Missouri fighting for a competitive state grant for playground resurfacing, and more recently in the case where the court ruled that Maine could not exclude religious schools from a public tuition assistance program, the court's conservative majority has consistently sided with religious groups in similar disputes.
- With the Supreme Court poised to rule on a controversial religious charter school that critics say could potentially reshape the education landscape, there are justices on both sides of the debate about whether the court will expand taxpayer funding for religious education or uphold the prevailing church-state separation.
