CV NEWS FEED // The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments April 30 in a major religious liberty case involving whether a Catholic school can participate in a publicly funded charter school program.
Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) Chief Legal Counsel Jim Campbell will present arguments defending the decision of Oklahoma’s charter school board to approve the application of St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School.
“Oklahoma parents and children are better off with more educational choices, not fewer,” Campbell said in an April 29 press release from ADF.
He emphasized that the U.S. Constitution defends the rights of schools like St. Isidore to participate without facing discrimination based solely on their religious identity.
“The U.S. Supreme Court has been clear that when the government creates programs and invites groups to participate, it can’t single out religious groups for exclusion,” he said.
St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School made history last year when the Oklahoma Statewide Virtual Charter School Board approved its application, establishing it as the nation’s first Catholic charter school.
The approval sparked immediate legal challenges, including a lawsuit from Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond, who claimed the school’s religious affiliation made its participation unconstitutional.
The Oklahoma Supreme Court later ruled against the board’s decision, insisting that St. Isidore could not be included in the state’s charter program because of its religious character. ADF attorneys, representing the board, are seeking to overturn that ruling, arguing that it conflicts with prior Supreme Court precedents ensuring religious institutions have equal access to generally available public programs.
Immediately after the Wednesday hearing at the Supreme Court in Washington, Campbell and Oklahoma Statewide Charter School Board Chair Brian Shellem will address the press outside the courthouse.
Shellem, who also leads the charter board as a father, stressed the importance of parental choice in education.
“Our Oklahoma charter school board was created to expand educational choice for parents,” he said in the ADF release. “Excluding faith-based groups that integrate religion into their education undermines that mission and hurts the families that desperately want those options.”
The case has drawn broad support. In March, the U.S. Solicitor General’s Office, alongside charter school groups, religious organizations, elected officials, and 12 states, filed amicus briefs urging the high court to uphold St. Isidore’s right to participate in the program.
>> Oklahoma officials clash over proposed Catholic charter school ahead of Supreme Court date <<
The post Supreme Court to hear arguments Wednesday in Catholic charter school case appeared first on CatholicVote org.