Oklahoma AG asks court to force cancellation of state's contract with Catholic charter school

By Ryan Foley, Christian Post Reporter Friday, August 02, 2024

Republican Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond has asked the Oklahoma Supreme Court to order the Statewide Charter School Board to cancel its contract with what was poised to become the first Catholic charter school in the United States as the school and its supporters continue to seek judicial relief at the federal level.

In a court filing Tuesday, Drummond urged the court to require the board to comply with a June 25 order to dissolve its contract with the St. Isidore Virtual Catholic Charter School, which is slated to open this fall.

The court ruled 7-1 that "the state is prohibited from using public money for the 'use, benefit or support of a sect or system of religion'" and that the contract with St. Isidore is unconstitutional.

In the petition, Drummond maintained that the board violated the June 25 court order and that "'[a]ny petition for rehearing regarding this matter shall be filed within (10) days of the date of this opinion.'"

"Yet for nearly a month, the Oklahoma Statewide Charter School Board has ignored this Court's patently clear Order requiring rescission of the unlawful contract," he wrote. "Every day the Oklahoma Statewide Charter School Board refuses to comply with this Court's Order is another day that a state-established religious school persists. This is repugnant to Oklahoma and federal law, and it must be immediately remediated."

In a statement, Drummond declared Oklahomans "should be outraged by the board's blatant hostility toward religious liberty."

"Rather than acting to protect religious liberty, they are recklessly committed to using our tax dollars to fund radical religious teachings like Sharia law," he wrote. "I will continue to protect the religious liberty of all four million Oklahomans by upholding their constitutional rights."

Following the court's decision, St. Isidore of Seville Catholic School vowed to continue the legal fight, calling the ruling "unconstitutional discrimination against educators and families of faith."

"[W]e are currently in discussions with the legal team as to our next steps for appealing the decision," the school said in a statement.

"Unfortunately, as appeal in this case will take time and because of this ruling, we are unable to open St. Isidore for the 2024-2025 school year as planned," the school added. "Sadly, our committed families will need to seek other options for the 2024-2025 school year. We remain steadfast in our belief in the promise of this school and in our constitutional right to help serve Oklahoma families through the charter-school program. The need for a Catholic virtual school in Oklahoma is apparent as our 200+ applications reflect."

The agenda for the Catholic charter school's June 28 Board of Directors meeting indicated that the school was seeking a review of the Oklahoma Supreme Court decision by the U.S. Supreme Court. The school also predicted that it would not open until at least the 2025-26 school year.

Ryan Walters, Oklahoma's Republican state superintendent of public instruction, who has emerged as a strong supporter of the Catholic virtual charter school, published an X post Tuesday advocating the school's next steps.

"Proud to support sending the St. Isidore case to the Supreme Court," Walters stated. "Parents and kids deserve options in education. Governments should not be promoting atheism as a state run religion," he insisted.

Drummond urged the Oklahoma Supreme Court to refrain from holding Walters and the rest of the board in contempt, citing a desire to provide "one last opportunity to comply with this Court's order." However, he asserted that he would ask the court to hold members of the board in contempt if they continue to disobey the order to dissolve the contract with St. Isidore.

Ryan Foley is a reporter for The Christian Post. He can be reached at: ryan.foley@christianpost.com