Oklahoma Supreme Court Rules State-Funded Religious Charter School Unconstitutional

The Oklahoma State Supreme Court ruled on June 25 that the state’s charter school board violated both state and federal law when it approved a publicly funded religious charter school, the first in the United States, in June of last year. Granting St. Isidore of Seville Virtual Charter School a charter was equal to the establishment of a state religion, the court found, with the majority of judges rejecting the defendant’s argument that the Catholic school would help allow free choice in religion. Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond, who sued the Statewide Virtual Charter School Board in October of 2023 over the issue, celebrated the decision in a statement on his website....