Oklahoma Parents, Faith Leaders Drop Lawsuit Over Catholic Charter School
The coalition voluntarily dismissed their lawsuit in light of the higher court decisions.
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OKLAHOMA CITY — An Oklahoma County lawsuit challenging a Catholic charter school has been dropped following the school’s failed appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
The Court’s 4-4 stalemate upheld an Oklahoma Supreme Court decision against permitting the country’s first religious charter school to begin operating in the state with taxpayer funds.
While Catholic leaders, a small state agency and Attorney General Gentner Drummond debated their case before the nation’s highest court, a separate lawsuit opposing the religious school was pending in Oklahoma County District Court. The coalition of local parents, faith leaders and public education advocates who filed the Oklahoma County case announced Monday they have voluntarily dismissed their lawsuit in light of the higher court decisions.
The plaintiffs and their legal counsel — who include attorneys from the American Civil Liberties Union, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, and the Freedom from Religion Foundation — declared victory while dropping their case.
“We’re pleased that the courts stopped this direct assault on public education and religious freedom,” said Daniel Mach, of the ACLU. “ Public schools must remain secular and welcome all students, regardless of faith.”
The Oklahoma Parent Legislative Advocacy Coalition was the first plaintiff in the lawsuit. Chairperson Misty Bradley said the group is grateful for those who supported their case and for the attorney general’s “successful efforts to uphold Oklahoma’s constitution and protect its taxpayers and public schools.”
Officials from the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City and the Diocese of Tulsa first applied to open St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School in 2023. Later that year, the Oklahoma Statewide Virtual Charter School Board, a small state agency that oversaw online charter schools, approved the application to open St. Isidore, permitting it to operate with taxpayer funds.
St. Isidore would have offered an online education to students in all parts of the state. Although students of any religion or no faith could have attended the school, St. Isidore would have taught Catholic doctrine and functioned according to church beliefs.
The Oklahoma County lawsuit was the first to be filed against the school, followed by the attorney general’s request that the state Supreme Court intervene. The state Supreme Court decided last year that a religious charter school would be unconstitutional.
Both St. Isidore and the Oklahoma Statewide Virtual Charter School Board appealed the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court, which agreed to hear the case in May.
The eight justices who heard the case deadlocked at 4-4, which allowed the state Supreme Court’s decision to stand.
Catholic leaders, who did not immediately comment on the Oklahoma County case Monday, said they are exploring other options to provide an online Catholic education.
Gov. Kevin Stitt, a supporter of St. Isidore, said the matter of publicly funded religious charter schools is “far from a settled issue” and suggested it would reach the U.S. Supreme Court again.
Oklahoma Voice is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Oklahoma Voice maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Janelle Stecklein for questions: [email protected].
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