News Release
For Immediate Release: 11.8.24
Contact: John Manning, media@firstliberty.org
Direct: 972-941-4453
Oklahoma State Superintendent of Schools, Ed Departments File Brief in Charter School Case at U.S. Supreme Court
Friend-of-the-court brief in case involving religious school’s inclusion in state’s charter school program urges Court to take important religious liberty case.
Washington, DC—On behalf of the Oklahoma State Superintendent of Public Instruction, the Department of Education, and the State Board of Education, First Liberty Institute and the law firm Spencer Fane filed a friend-of-the-court brief asking the Supreme Court of the United States to hear Oklahoma Statewide Charter School Board v. Drummond, a case involving the constitutionality of the Oklahoma Charter School Board’s approval of St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School for inclusion as a charter-school.
You can read the brief here.
“As state superintendent, I have an obligation to provide the best possible education opportunities to Oklahoma’s students while abiding by Oklahoma state law and the U.S. Constitution,” said state superintendent Ryan Walters. “I want to increase learning opportunities for all of our students by expanding education freedom and increasing the state’s number of charter schools, including religious schools like St. Isidore.”
“Excluding schools simply because they are religious is a clear violation of the Constitution,” said A. J. Ferate, Of Counsel for the law firm Spencer Fane. “Schools like St. Isidore should not be discriminated against simply because they are religious. This case provides the Supreme Court an opportunity to make clear that states cannot discriminate against religious schools.”
“The Oklahoma Supreme Court’s decision pits the free exercise clause against the establishment clause,” added Kelly Shackelford, President, CEO, and Chief Counsel for First Liberty Institute. “But the First Amendment aligns with both St. Isidore’s freedom to operate according to its beliefs and the charter school board’s decision to include it as an option for students in Oklahoma. We hope the Court takes this important religious liberty case.”
By 2021, there were thirty-one charter schools in Oklahoma, including six fully virtual charter schools that enrolled 43,324 students. Charter schools enjoy substantial flexibility in operations and “may offer a curriculum which emphasizes a specific learning philosophy or style or certain subject areas….” Charter schools primarily remain accountable to their public sponsor and governing boards but must be accredited by the Department of Education, which ensures compliance with federal and state law. Last year, the Oklahoma Statewide Virtual Charter School Board voted to approve the application of St. Isidore of Seville Virtual Catholic Charter School, an online public school that would be administered by the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City and the Diocese of Tulsa. Several organizations then sued on behalf of various plaintiffs.
In the brief, attorneys state, “The consequences of the Oklahoma Supreme Court’s ruling are severe. As petitioners point out, the decision entrenches an acknowledged split and threatens to unravel decades of established precedent. Contrary to that precedent, it transforms the Establishment Clause into a cudgel against the Free Exercise Clause. And it sows confusion among public officials and educators—needlessly distracting from their responsibilities to improve the quality and quantity of educational offerings available to the Nation’s children and their families.”
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About First Liberty Institute
First Liberty Institute is a non-profit public interest law firm and the largest legal organization in the nation dedicated exclusively to defending religious freedom for all Americans.
To arrange an interview, contact John Manning at media@firstliberty.org or by calling 972-941-4453
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