U.S. Supreme Court taking up Oklahoma Catholic charter school case

A proposed Catholic charter school that the Oklahoma Supreme Court struck down in June could be revived after the U.S. Supreme Court decided to take up the issue Friday. The high court set a March briefing schedule and said an hour would be allotted for oral argument.

The novel case could have vast implications for the level of religion allowed in public schools across the country. If it had been allowed to open in August as proposed, St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School would have likely been the nation’s first religious charter school.

Charter schools are public schools that can be run by private management organizations. Specific laws regarding charter schools vary by state, but Oklahoma law requires schools to be “nonsectarian.” Charter schools are typically sponsored by a governing board or university. In Oklahoma, tribal nations can also sponsor charter schools. The schools must be open to all students and are prohibited from charging tuition.

St. Isidore’s path to the U.S. Supreme Court has been winding. The Archdiocese of Oklahoma City and Diocese of Tulsa originally filed a joint application to operate a virtual charter school in February 2023. The Statewide Virtual Charter School Board approved the application in June of that year. Within months, a group of 10 plaintiffs filed a lawsuit challenging the legality of the school in Oklahoma County District Court, and Attorney General Gentner Drummond filed a petition with the Oklahoma Supreme Court asking justices to order the SVCSB to cancel its contract with the school, which it eventually did. (On July 1, 2024, the Statewide Charter School Board succeeded the SVCSB, inheriting all of its responsibilities, including the legal challenges to St. Isidore.)

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