Conservative-leaning Supreme Court justices express willingness to approve use of public funds for Catholic charter school
Rewritten Article:
The Supreme Court's conservative faction seems inclined to endorse the establishment of a Catholic charter school in Oklahoma, a move that could expand the availability of public funds for religious education in educational systems nationwide.
During a heated two-hour session, the court's conservative justices grilled an attorney against the formation of St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School, scrutinizing his arguments in light of a series of recent legal precedents that have eroded the barriers between church and state.
Chief Justice John Roberts, who often asks incisive questions of both sides, appears to hold significant influence in the decision-making process. Given importances, Roberts' vote is particularly crucial given that one of the court's six conservatives, Justice Amy Coney Barrett, recused herself in the case.
Justice Brett Kavanaugh, also a conservative, argued that opposition to the school reeked of "religious discrimination."
"All the religious school is saying is, 'Don't exclude us because of our religion,'" Kavanaugh stated. "Our cases have demonstrated – and I believe these are some of our most important ones – that you can't treat religious people and religious institutions as second-class citizens in the United States."
Three of the court's conservatives appeared to support the school's creation, while the court's three liberal justices seemed opposed to it. If Roberts sides with the liberal wing, it would result in a 4-4 tie, with the lower court's ruling against the school standing.
Charter School Basics
Charter schools serve 3.8 million students in the U.S., offering an alternative to traditional public schools that are intended to be more innovative and less bound by state regulations. The idea took off in the 1990s and, by the 2023 school year, there were about 8,000 charter schools operating nationwide.
Oklahoma law, like most states', considers charter schools to be public entities. However, the Supreme Court has issued a series of decisions in recent years suggesting that, while the government isn't obligated to include private entities in programs, it cannot deny religious entities participation if it decides to involve them.
Key to the debate was a 2022 decision in which the court stopped Maine from excluding religious schools from a public tuition assistance program that enables parents to use vouchers for public or private schools. In a 6-3 ruling authored by Roberts, the court determined that the exclusion of religious schools from the tuition program violated the First Amendment's Free Exercise Clause.
During the arguments, Roberts appeared to question whether this decision was applicable to the current case. In Maine, Roberts suggested, the state had minimal involvement other than distributing money. But in Oklahoma, he explained, the state is deeply involved in regulating charter schools' day-to-day operations.
"These cases involved 'relatively isolated' state involvement," Roberts stated. "However, this case seems to entail a much more comprehensive role played by the state in the way charter schools operate. In light of that, I wonder what case supports the position regarding such extensive involvement."
However, later, the chief justice seemed particularly troubled by the opposition to the school conflicting with a different decision, handed down in 2021, in which the court ruled in favor of a Catholic foster care agency that refused to work with same-sex couples as potential foster parents.
"How is this different from what we have here?" Roberts questioned the attorney opposed to the school. "You have an education program, and you want to exclude them from participating with a religious entity."
Roberts then walked through a series of decisions in which he argued that the court had examined similar programs that were creations of the state and discovered that, in all of those cases, the court had ruled that it was unconstitutional to exclude individuals due to their religious beliefs.
Public or Private?
A ruling in favor of St. Isidore could effectively redefine charter schools as private entities, even though most state laws, including Oklahoma's, consider them to be public schools. This could open the door for other religious charter schools to apply for funding, critics claim, or it could lead to some states restricting or discontinuing charter schools altogether.
This possibility was a matter of concern for Justice Neil Gorsuch, who inquired about the potential backlash for charter schools.
D. John Sauer, making his first appearance at the podium since being confirmed as solicitor general, argued in favor of the school on behalf of the Trump administration. Facing a series of tough questions from the court's liberal wing about a perceived change in position from the Biden administration, Sauer noted that the school had been approved by the state charter school board. Thus, the Oklahoma Attorney General, Gentner Drummond, a Republican, sued to prevent the school's founding.
Oklahoma's top court ruled in Drummond's favor last year, stating that funneling state funds to St. Isidore's operations would amount to "financing the Catholic Church," which would violate the framers' intentions and the citizens' freedom to practice religion without state intervention.
In an update to this story, the Supreme Court is expected to issue its ruling by late June 2022, potentially reshaping the landscape for school choice and religious education funding.
- The conservative justices in the Supreme Court, including Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Brett Kavanaugh, appear to be inclined towards endorsing the establishment of a Catholic charter school in Oklahoma.
- During a trial, Roberts questioned if a previous ruling that stopped Maine from excluding religious schools from a public tuition assistance program is applicable to the case in Oklahoma.
- The Supreme Court's ruling in favor of St. Isidore could potentially redefine charter schools as private entities, altering the landscape for school choice and religious education funding nationwide.
- The opposition to St. Isidore's creation risks conflicting with a previous decision by the court that favored a Catholic foster care agency refusing to work with same-sex couples.
- D. John Sauer, arguing in favor of the school on behalf of the Trump administration, noted that the school had been approved by the state charter school board, despite opposition from Oklahoma's Attorney General, Gentner Drummond.
- The liberal wing of the court had raised concerns about a perceived shift in position from the Biden administration during the trial, as the school's case progresses through the judicial system.
