Oklahoma Supreme Court Says No to State Funding for a Religious Charter School

The Oklahoma Supreme Court blocked on Tuesday what would have been the nation’s first religious charter school, delivering a setback to a conservative movement that has increasingly fought for public dollars to go toward religious education.

The case is likely to be appealed, potentially pushing it toward the U.S. Supreme Court, whose conservative majority has broadly embraced the role of religion in public life and signaled an openness to directing taxpayer money to religious schools.

The proposed school, St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School, was pitched as an online Catholic school for students in rural areas and throughout the state of Oklahoma, with religious instruction woven throughout the curriculum.

But instead of operating as a private school with families paying tuition, St. Isidore applied for status as a charter school, a type of public school that is financed by taxpayer dollars, but run independently.

The plan, which was being widely watched for its potential to set a national precedent, met an obstacle in the Oklahoma Supreme Court, which ruled that a religious charter school would violate the state constitution.

“Enforcing the St. Isidore contract would create a slippery slope,” the court wrote, directing the state to rescind its contract with St. Isidore. Six justices agreed, while two dissented all or in part.