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Supreme Court Stalemate Blocks Oklahoma Religious Charter School
In a rare 4-4 deadlock, the Supreme Court has blocked Oklahoma’s attempt to establish the nation’s first taxpayer-funded religious charter school. Justice Amy Coney Barrett recused herself from the case, likely due to her past connections with the Notre Dame Law School clinic that supported the Catholic archdiocese’s efforts.
This split decision upholds the Oklahoma Supreme Court’s ruling, which found that taxpayer-funded religious schools violate both state and federal constitutions. The Supreme Court’s unsigned, one-line opinion offers no insight into the individual justices’ positions.
While this represents a setback for the religious freedom movement, which has seen significant legal victories in recent years, Oklahoma State Superintendent Ryan Walters, a proponent of religious charters, remains defiant. He criticized the decision as rooted in “19th-century religious bigotry” and pledged to continue his fight to allow religious schools into the charter program.
The Supreme Court’s tie, however, does not set a national precedent, leaving the door open for the issue to be revisited in the future.
This decision brings relief to public school and independent charter school advocates who worried about the potential disruption a ruling in favor of the Catholic school, St. Isidore of Seville, could have caused. With 45 states currently operating charter school programs serving 3.8 million children, some states had even considered scaling back or eliminating their programs entirely if religious charter schools were allowed.
The American Federation of Teachers (AFT), which had opposed the Oklahoma initiative, celebrated the decision as a victory for the separation of church and state. AFT President Randi Weingarten emphasized the importance of public schools, including charter schools, remaining secular and accessible to all children. While acknowledging the value of religious education, Weingarten stressed its place outside the public school system.