by Robert Schmad
The Oklahoma Supreme Court has ruled that approval of the nation’s first publicly funded religious school was unconstitutional, court documents show.
Oklahoma Virtual Charter School Council voted approval of the application to establish a virtual religious school in June 2023, prompting Republican state Attorney General Gentner Drummond will file a lawsuit in October to block the funding, calling it an “irreparable violation of our individual religious freedom” and an “unthinkable waste of our tax dollars.” The Oklahoma Supreme Court ultimately sided with Drummond (pictured above), holding that “under Oklahoma law, a charter school is a public school” and “as such, a charter school must be nonsectarian.” behind court documents.
The document also shows that the court’s decision found that the proposed Christian school violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the Constitution. An application for appeal must be submitted within 10 days of the decision.
The Board initially voted to deny the application by the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City and the Diocese of Tulsa to establish St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School due to concerns regarding its constitutionality. Oklahoma Catholic Conference executive director Brett Farley welcomed the legal challenges after the school’s application was later approved so that courts could decide the legal issue of whether taxpayer funds could be used for such a purpose.
The Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled today that it will not allow the creation of the nation’s first taxpayer-funded, state-sponsored religious public school. https://t.co/uBtFk7ASI6 pic.twitter.com/ckhyADMXmb
— Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond (@Okla_OAG) June 25, 2024
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) praised Drummond when he initially filed the lawsuit, saying the attorney general’s actions were consistent with his desire to exclude religion from civic life, According to to October 2023 ACLU press release on Tuesday praised ruling by the Oklahoma Supreme Court, calling it “a victory for the separation of church and state.”
The ACLU and its various state chapters have received multimillion-dollar funding from a range of left-wing donors, including George Soros’ philanthropic network. to show.
ACLU attorneys, joined by other groups such as Americans United for the Separation of Church and State and the Freedom From Religion Foundation, filed their own lawsuit in an attempt to stop Oklahoma from funding the school, according to a press release. The nonprofits represented plaintiffs who opposed the apply of public funds to support institutions that allegedly discriminate against people based on “LGBTQ+” status and “indoctrinate students into one religion.”
Drummond’s office distanced itself from the ACLU, telling the Daily Caller News Foundation that “the ACLU matter is a separate matter in which our office is not involved.”
The Oklahoma Supreme Court’s ruling was not unanimous, and Justice Dana Kuehn dissented on the grounds that excluding a private entity from contracting with the state because of its religious affiliation violates the free exercise clause of the First Amendment to the Constitution, According to to court records.
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Robert Schmad is a reporter for the Daily Caller News Foundation.
Photo “Gentner Drummond” by Oklahoma Attorney General Gentler Drummond. Cover photo “Oklahoma State Capitol” by Serge Melki CC BY 2.0.
