Oklahoma Statewide Virtual Charter School Board listens to public comments Tuesday, April 11 during a meeting to discuss a vote on whether to approve the creation of St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School, a Catholic charter school, in Oklahoma City. (Photo: money.yahoo.com)
June 7 2023
A state school board in Oklahoma voted June 5 to approve what would be the first taxpayer-funded Catholic charter school if it survives likely legal challenges. But the state’s Republican governor and attorney general clashed over the decision, with the attorney general calling the school board’s actions “unconstitutional.”
The Statewide Virtual Charter School Board voted 3-2 to approve an application by the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City to establish the St. Isidore of Seville Virtual Charter School, which would be an online public charter school open to students throughout the state from kindergarten through high school.
“We are elated that the board agreed with our argument and application for the nation’s first religious charter school,” Brett Farley, executive director of the Catholic Conference of Oklahoma, said in a statement to OSV News.
But Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond issued a statement arguing the school board’s decision is unconstitutional and that legal action will likely follow after a contract for the school is signed.
“The approval of any publicly funded religious school is contrary to Oklahoma law and not in the best interest of taxpayers,” Drummond said. “It’s extremely disappointing that board members violated their oath in order to fund religious schools with our tax dollars. In doing so, these members have exposed themselves and the state to potential legal action that could be costly.”
Drummond’s statement placed him at odds with Oklahoma’s Republican Gov. J. Kevin Stitt, who celebrated the decision.
“I applaud the Oklahoma Statewide Virtual Charter School Board’s courage to approve the authorization for St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School,” Stitt said in a statement. “This is a win for religious liberty and education freedom in our great state, and I am encouraged by these efforts to give parents more options when it comes to their child’s education.”
Stitt previously signed a bill earlier this year granting parents in the state a tax incentive to send their children to private schools, including religious private schools.
“Oklahomans support religious liberty for all and support an increasingly innovative educational system that expands choice,” Stitt added. “Today, with the nation watching, our state showed that we will not stand for religious discrimination.”
Americans United for Separation of Church and State signaled they would be behind one such potential challenge, issuing a statement saying they are preparing legal action in response to the school board’s decision.
“It’s hard to think of a clearer violation of the religious freedom of Oklahoma taxpayers and public-school families than the state establishing the nation’s first religious public charter school,” the group’s CEO, Rachel Laser, said in a statement.
“This is a sea change for American democracy,” Laser said, adding her organization will “work with our Oklahoma and national partners to take all possible legal action to fight this decision and defend the separation of church and state that’s promised in both the Oklahoma and U.S. Constitutions.”
“State and federal law are clear: Charter schools are public schools that must be secular and open to all students,” Laser said. “No public-school family should fear that their child will be required by charter schools to take theology classes or be expelled for failing to conform to religious doctrines. And the government should never force anyone to fund religious education. In a country built on the principle of separation of church and state, public schools must never be allowed to become Sunday schools.”
In its application, according to The Associated Press, the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City said, “the Catholic school participates in the evangelizing mission of the Church and is the privileged environment in which Christian education is carried out.”
“Parents continue to demand more options for their kids,” Farley stated, “and we are committed to help provide them.” – UCA News
