Oklahoma high court rules state funded religious charter school unconstitutional

The Oklahoma Supreme Court has ruled in favor of state Attorney General Gentner Drummond in a lawsuit involving what would be the nation's first religious charter school.

The Oklahoma Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled the state's approval of the first publicly funded religious charter school in the nation violates state and federal law, and is unconstitutional.

State Attorney General Gentner Drummond sued the Statewide Virtual Charter School Board on Oct. 20 after the board, by a 3-2 vote, approved the creation of St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School. The state Supreme Court, which assumed original jurisdiction in the case, heard oral arguments over a contract between the Oklahoma Statewide Virtual Charter School Board and a religious charter school on April 2.

The case is being watched closely due to its religious overtones in a public charter school setting and potential for a precedent-setting ruling. Charter schools are privately run but publicly funded, and such schools with a direct focus on religion have so far been nonexistent. That's due to controversy over the use of public funding for parochial education. The schools are allowed to dictate their own curriculum and teaching styles.

The court gave the school 10 days to apply for a rehearing of the case, which is expected to be appealed.

"We will consider all legal options and remain steadfast in our belief that St. Isidore would have and could still be a valuable asset to students, regardless of socioeconomic, race or faith backgrounds," wrote Archbishop Paul Coakley of the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City and Bishop David Konderla of the Diocese of Tulsa in a joint statement in response to Tuesday's ruling.

Arguments festered over the religious nature of the Oklahoma public charter school

Attorneys for the virtual charter school board and St. Isidore argued the school, which would be the nation’s first Catholic virtual charter school, would actually be a private entity, and not a public school.

Justice James Winchester, in his opinion, disagreed.

“Under Oklahoma law, a charter school is a public school,” he wrote. “As such, a charter school must be nonsectarian. … St. Isidore cannot justify its creation by invoking Free Exercise rights as a religious entity.”

The court ordered the Statewide Virtual Charter School Board to terminate its contract with St. Isidore. Six justices agreed with Winchester’s decision and another agreed in part and dissented in part. One justice completely dissented and another recused himself.

The school's principal Misty Smith called the Supreme Court's decision "a setback for Oklahoma K-12 students and to the ideal of free choice and open opportunity in education."

In a statement, Smith wrote that she would not give up the fight and hoped the court's "error may be corrected and that St. Isidore will help open the path toward a future where the needs of all Oklahoma students and families are fulfilled, regardless of their background, income, or beliefs."

Challengers to publicly-funded religious school applaud 'unconstitutional' ruling

Several organizations representing faith leaders, public school parents and public education advocates that sued to stop the state from sponsoring and funding St. Isidore issued a joint statement applauding the court's decisions Tuesday. They alleged the school planned "to discriminate against students, families, and staff and indoctrinate students into one religion."

“The Oklahoma Supreme Court’s decision safeguards public education and upholds the separation of religion and government. Charter schools are public schools that must be secular and serve all students," said the statement from the American Civil Liberties Union, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, Education Law Center and the Freedom From Religion Foundation.

The National Alliance for Public Charter schools, a national nonprofit organization that promotes charter schools, echoed the groups' sentiments.

"We insist every charter school student must be given the same federal and state civil rights and constitutional protections as their district school peers," wrote Eric Paisner, an acting CEO for the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, in a news release.

Contributing: Alia Wong USA TODAY

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma high court rules state funded religious charter school unconstitutional