Supreme Court to hear Oklahoma religious charter school case

The Supreme Court agreed Friday to review a high-profile case that could open the door to allowing public funds to directly fund religious schools.

The widely watched Oklahoma case could transform the boundary between church and state in education, and it will come before a court whose conservative majority has largely embraced the role of religion in public life.

The case centers on a proposal to create the nation’s first religious charter school, St. Isidore Catholic Virtual School in Seville. The school would be online and its curriculum would incorporate religious teachings throughout classes, including in math and reading classes.

As a charter school, it would be operated independently of traditional public schools. But taxpayer money would fund the school and attendance would be free for students.

The question of whether the government can fully fund a religious school has proven particularly divisive within the school choice movement and throughout Oklahoma. Some conservative Christian leaders, including Gov. Kevin Stitt and Ryan Walters, the state superintendent who has sought to require Bible teaching in public schools, supported the creation of St. Isidore.

They urged the Supreme Court to take up the case, believing the conservative-leaning court would rule in favor of the school.