The Supreme Court heard oral arguments today for a case that could reshape the way public funds are handled by religious schools.
St. Isidore Catholic Virtual School v. Drummond —a case coming from Oklahoma— could reset decades of precedent and overturn federal law and laws in 40 states.
During oral arguments today the court indicated that it is split down ideological lines. However, Chief Justice John Roberts seemed to be undecided and could possibly break from the rest of the conservative wing, which includes Neil Gorsuch, Samuel Alito, Brett Kavanaugh, and Clarence Thomas.
Because of a decision by associate Justice Amy Coney Barrett to recuse herself, If Roberts were to vote with the liberal wing— Sonia Sotomayor, Elane Kagean, and Ketanji Brown Jackson— the court vote would sit at an even 4-4, upholding the earlier decision from the Oklahoma Supreme Court that the proposed religious school .
Although without explanation, Barrett has worked as an adjunct professor at Notre Dame School of Law whose Religious Liberties Clinic is an advisor to St. Isidores.
The case rests on the question of whether or not it is unconstitutional for Oklahoma and Federal Law to require charter schools to be “nonsectarian.”
In 2023, Oklahoma Attorney General Getner Drummond filed an injunction stopping a contract between the Oklahoma Statewide Charter School Board and St. Isidore School. Drummond argued that this violated state and federal law. The Oklahoma Supreme Court sided with Drummond, and St. Isidore appealed the case to SCOTUS.
St. Isidore and the Oklahoma Statewide Charter School Board argued that St. Isidore’s should not be considered a public actor because charter schools are not functionally the same as public schools.
“Oklahoma’s charter school program relies on private organizations to create more educational options, and it empowers those groups to innovate by giving them broad autonomy over their mission, curriculum, and operations,” James Campbell, the attorney for the Oklahoma Statewide Charter School Board, said. “But state law categorically bars religious groups and programs, deeming religion to be the wrong kind of diversity.”
The Petitioners are supported by Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt, who said on Facebook, “OK is standing strong: Faith-based schools must have the same right to serve students. Disqualifying St. Isidore would be discriminatory and un-American.”
Stitt is also joined by Oklahoma State Superintendent Ryan Walters who, on Fox News today, said that Attorney General Drummond’s decision was out of step with what Oklahomans want.
“Oklahoma went 77 out of 77 counties for President Trump. That wasn’t a coincidence, it was a mandate. Oklahomans voted for religious liberty and school choice,” Walters said.
Drummond argued that St. Isidore’s is clearly a public school under Oklahoma statutes.
“It’s significant that the state has regarded charter schools as public schools, as has the Congress of the United States and the legislatures of every other state,” Gregory Garre, the Attorney for Drummond and the state of Oklahoma, said. “It would be sort of remarkable for this Court to say that everyone else was wrong on that.”
The respondents also argued that, fundamentally, the state fully funding a religious school would go against decades of court precedent.
“The farmers of the U.S. Constitution and those who drafted Oklahoma’s Constitution wisely understood how best to protect religious freedom: by preventing the state from sponsoring any religion at all,” Drummond said in a statement,
The court is expected to release an opinion later in June 2025.
Gaylord News is a reporting project of the University of Oklahoma Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication. For more news by Gaylord News go to GaylordNews.net.
