The United States Supreme Court will hear a case concerning the taxpayer funding of a religious charter school. The state supreme court refused the case.
2 News reported in October how St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School and the Oklahoma Charter School Board filed an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court in an effort to establish the first religious charter school.
The Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled against the charter in June, saying the use of public dollars for a religious school is unconstitutional.
- Previous Coverage >>> U.S. Supreme Court could hear Oklahoma's Catholic charter school case
In the petition, the SCOTUS looked at two questions:
- “Whether the academic and pedagogical choices of a privately owned and run school constitute state action simply because it contracts with the state to offer a free educational option for interested students.”
- “Whether a state violates the Free Exercise Clause by excluding privately run religious schools from the state’s charter school program solely because the schools are religious, or whether a state can justify such an exclusion by invoking anti-establishment interests that go further than the Establishment Clause requires.”
The court has granted one hour for oral arguments in the writ of certiorari. In it, the court requires petitioners' briefs be filed before March 5, and respondent's briefs are to be filed on or before March 31.
State Superintendent Ryan Walters issued the following statement:
“Parental choice in education is crucial. The entire country has eyes on Oklahoma to support St. Isidore and end state-sponsored atheism.”
Governor Kevin Stitt also released a statement:
“I’m glad the U.S. Supreme Court is hearing the St. Isidore case. This stands to be one of the most significant religious and education freedom decisions in our lifetime. I believe our nation’s highest court will agree that denying St. Isidore’s charter based solely on its religious affiliation is flat-out unconstitutional. We’ve seen ugly religious intolerance from opponents of the education freedom movement, but I look forward to seeing our religious liberties protected both in Oklahoma and across the country.”
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