The Freedom From Religion Foundation is celebrating a significant victory for Oklahoma families and the separation of state and church after the U.S. Supreme Court deadlocked 4–4 on a case involving the nation’s first religious public charter school.
The tie leaves in place an Oklahoma Supreme Court ruling that blocks the state from sponsoring and funding St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School, a publicly funded charter school that intended to indoctrinate students in Catholic doctrine.
“This is a crucial, if narrow, win for constitutional principles,” says FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor. “A publicly funded religious charter school would have obliterated the wall of separation between state and church. We’re relieved that, at least for now, the First Amendment still means what it says.”
The state’s charter school board approved St. Isidore in 2023, marking the first time a state had authorized a religious charter school. However, the Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled in June of last year that the school’s religious characteristics disqualified it from operating as a public charter, a ruling that has now been left intact by the Supreme Court’s tie.
Had the nation’s highest court ruled differently, it would have greenlit the use of taxpayer dollars to fund religious instruction — a fundamental violation of the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause. FFRF and its coalition partners submitted an amicus brief in the case warning that allowing religious charter schools would erode public education and religious freedom.
“This case was never about the free exercise of religion; it was about government-sponsored religion,” says FFRF Legal Director Patrick Elliott. “Taxpayers should never be forced to fund religious indoctrination, especially through schools that are supposed to be open to all students.”
The implications of this case extend far beyond Oklahoma. Christian nationalist legal groups such as Alliance Defending Freedom and the Religious Liberty Clinic at Notre Dame have made no secret of their plan to replicate religious charter schools nationwide. If successful, their efforts would radically reshape public education and funnel public resources to religious institutions with little oversight or regard for civil liberties.
The Supreme Court’s split ruling underscores what’s at stake in future cases and highlights this case as a near miss. Because Justice Amy Coney Barrett recused herself, the resulting deadlock prevented a potentially disastrous precedent.
“The fight isn’t over,” said Gaylor. “The forces trying to undermine our public schools and constitutional freedoms are already regrouping. FFRF will continue to defend secular education and the rights of all Americans to be free from government-imposed religion.”
The Freedom From Religion Foundation is a U.S.-based nonprofit dedicated to promoting the constitutional principle of separation between state and church and educating the public on matters of nontheism. With more than 42,000 members, FFRF advocates for freethinkers’ rights. For more information, visit ffrf.org.
Photo by Joshua Woods on Unsplash
