Oklahoma rescinds contract for first Catholic charter school amid legal setbacks

By Ryan Foley, Christian Post Reporter Friday, August 16, 2024

The state government in Oklahoma has rescinded the contract for a Catholic charter school poised to be the first of its kind in the nation amid a series of legal setbacks.

Oklahoma's Republican Attorney General Gentner Drummond announced that the Oklahoma Statewide Charter School Board voted unanimously at its Monday meeting to rescind the contract for the St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual Charter School.

The move comes a month and a half after the Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled that the school, slated to open this month, was unconstitutional and that "the state is prohibited from using public money for the 'use, benefit or support of a sect or system of religion.'"

St. Isidore describes itself as "a full time, K-12, tuition free, online Catholic charter school." It opened enrollment to students of all faiths, not just the Roman Catholic faith.

"While it is appalling that the Board took so long to recognize the authority of the Oklahoma Supreme Court, I am pleased that board members finally fulfilled their duty," Drummond said in a statement. "The proposed state-sponsored religious school, funded by our tax dollars, represents a serious threat to the religious liberty of all four million Oklahomans."

Drummond sought an order from the Oklahoma Supreme Court for the state to comply with its earlier ruling late last month and threatened to hold its members and State Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters in contempt of court if they did not do so.

While St. Isidore requested a stay of the decision pending an appeal to the United States Supreme Court, the Oklahoma Supreme Court denied that petition last week.

The legal setbacks experienced by St. Isidore, along with the board's decision to rescind its contract, ensure that the school will not open in time for the 2024-25 school year.

As the school explained on its website, this means that the 200 students slated to attend the school will have to pursue other options.

The push for review from the U.S. Supreme Court occurs in the context of a favorable ruling related to the use of taxpayer dollars to send children to religious schools.

In the 2022 caseCarson v. Makin, the court ruled that the state of Maine could not prevent families from using state taxpayer funds from a tuition assistance program designed to enable children living in remote areas without a public high school to attend private high schools from using the money to send their children to religiously affiliated private schools.

The Carson decision has already impacted other litigation surrounding parents' ability to use taxpayer money to send their children to religious schools. Months after the ruling, the state of Vermont reached a settlement with parents who sued the state because it would not let them use money from a similar tuition assistance program to send their children to religious private schools.

A letter from Vermont Education Secretary Daniel French cited the Carson decision and informed parents that "Requests for tuition payments for resident students to approved independent religious schools or religious independent schools that meet educational quality standards must be treated the same as requests for tuition payments to secular approved independent schools or secular independent schools that meet educational quality standards."

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