by Jorge Gomez • 2 minutes
First Liberty and the law firms Gibson Dunn and Spencer Fane filed a friend-of-the-court brief at the U.S. Supreme Court—with Gibson Dunn representing First Liberty and First Liberty representing Ryan Walters, the Oklahoma Department of Education, and the Oklahoma Board of Education. The brief challenges the exclusion of religious schools from the state’s charter school program, thus violating the Free Exercise Clause.
On April 30, the Court will hear two consolidated cases involving St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School, a faith-based charter school that’s being excluded from receiving publicly available benefits simply because of its religious character.
“Excluding schools simply because they are religious is a clear violation of the Constitution,” said First Liberty President, CEO and Chief Counsel Kelly Shackelford. “This case provides an opportunity for the Supreme Court to show that states cannot discriminate against religious schools.”
“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, increasing the state’s number of charter schools, and giving parents the best possible options for their children.”
The Oklahoma Charter School Board approved St. Isidore to participate in the state’s network of independently designed and privately operated charter schools. But the Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled that the board could not authorize a charter contract with St. Isidore solely because the school is religious. According to that decision, Oklahoma’s approval of a religious charter school is unconstitutional because charter schools receive taxpayer funding and are considered “state actors,” i.e. public schools.
Our friends at Alliance Defending Freedom are representing the Catholic school and argue the state is violating the Free Exercise Clause. By excluding religious schools from the charter school program, the state is effectively punishing parents and children for exercising their religion.
“The Supreme Court has made clear in case after case that states violate the Free Exercise Clause when they target faith-based organizations for exclusion from public funds and benefits,” said Allyson Ho, partner at Gibson Dunn.
Our brief details the multiple Supreme Court decisions which have made clear that states cannot discriminate against religious schools. We specifically point to First Liberty’s landmark ruling in the Treat Children Fairly case, Carson v. Makin, which held that states are prohibited from discriminating against parents who send their children to religious schools. That decision also ensured fairness in how the government treats all religious schools and organizations.
“Because St. Isidore isn’t a state actor, this Court’s precedents forbid Oklahoma from disqualifying St. Isidore from receiving funds solely because of its purportedly ‘sectarian’ nature,” our brief notes. “Those precedents establish that the federal free exercise right to be free from discrimination based on religious status or use of funds trumps any provision to the contrary in state statutes or constitutions.”
Beyond protecting the rights of St. Isidore and other religious schools in Oklahoma, the outcome could impact faith-based schools across the country. With this case, the Supreme Court can reaffirm that the First Amendment prohibits state officials from excluding religious families and schools. It’s an excellent opportunity for the nation’s highest court to strengthen religious liberty protections, educational choice and parental rights.
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