First religious charter school approved in Oklahoma.

Oklahoma School Board Approves First Taxpayer-Funded Religious Charter School

Exciting news for the Catholic Church as the Oklahoma Statewide Virtual Charter School Board has approved the creation of the first-ever taxpayer-funded religious charter school in the United States. The St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School will offer online education for kindergarten through high school, initially for 500 students and eventually 1,500.

Despite the approval, opponents of the school have vowed a legal challenge, which promises to be a long court battle testing the application of the First Amendment. Any legal fight could test the scope of the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment “establishment clause,” which restricts the government from officially endorsing any particular religion.

Board Approval

The Oklahoma Statewide Virtual Charter School Board approved the plan to create the St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School in a 3-2 vote. The board had previously rejected the first plan submitted for the school in April, stating that they needed more details, including on the special education department.

Board members have emphasized repeatedly that they were not voting on the constitutionality of such a school, but only whether the application met the board’s standards. Charter schools are publicly funded, independently run schools established under the terms of a charter with a local or national authority.

Legal Battle

Church officials have said they hope the case will reach the U.S. Supreme Court, where a 6-3 conservative majority has taken an expansive view of religious rights, including in two rulings since 2020 concerning schools in Maine and Montana.

The idea for the St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School came from the Catholic Archdiocese of Oklahoma City, and the law school at the University of Notre Dame, a Catholic institution in Indiana, helped with the application.

Conclusion

The approval of the St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School marks a significant moment in the history of education in the United States. It will be interesting to see how the legal battle unfolds and what impact it will have on the future of religious charter schools in the country.

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