The Supreme Court heard a case this week which could reshape religious freedom and education forever, potentially opening the door for American taxpayers to fund faith-focused schools.
Oklahoma Statewide Charter School Board v. Drummond involves St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School, which hopes to be the first religious charter school in the United States.
The charter school is explicitly Catholic, teaches Catholic theology, and preaches Catholic values. It also wants Oklahoma taxpayers to fund it – a motion which was denied by lower courts in Oklahoma earlier this year.
They’ve taken the case to the Supreme Court, which heard oral arguments last week and which will rule on the case later this year. And their judgment will either bolster – or, critics fear, take a sledgehammer to – separation of church and state.
Can a state-funded charter school preach religion? That is the question at the heart of the case.
What Is a Charter School?
But first, some background: What is a charter school? Most children attend public schools, which are owned and operated by the state. Private schools are privately owned by a non-government entity (often a church or religious non-profit), and are generally free to teach what they want, including religious dogma.
Charter schools are best understood as a mix between the two; They receive state funds, are accredited by the state, and are beholden to state education standards, but are also run by a private entity and have more leeway in what their students focus on. For example, a charter school might have a stronger focus on the sciences than public schools to prepare students for STEM careers.
Charter schools are also required to be nonreligious by federal law and the state laws of all 46 states they’re legal in. That’s because these schools have long been understood to be “state actors,” able to receive taxpayer funds because they’re essentially a different arm of public education.
Should Public School Be Sunday School?
Administrators at St. Isidore’s see things differently. They argue the school is entitled to taxpayer funds to promote its religious mission – and they aren’t shy about the desire to preach theology.
The Archdiocese of Oklahoma City and the Diocese of Tulsa stated directly that the school will “participate in the evangelizing mission of the church.” They also have the backing of Oklahoma education head Ryan Walters, who stated “there’s been a war on Christianity and our schools have been at the epicenter of that.”
The Oklahoma Supreme Court shot that down, ruling that their bid for state funds was in violation of the Oklahoma state constitution, the state charter school statute, and the U.S. Constitution.
How Will the Supreme Court Rule?
That the Supreme Court agreed to hear the case in the first place indicate a possible willingness on the Court’s part to side with St. Isidore’s. And early indications are that some justices are feeling swayed by the charter school's argument.
During oral arguments, Justice Brett Kavanaugh at one point declared: "All the religious school is saying is, 'Don't exclude us on account of our religion.' … And when you have a program that's open to all comers except religion, that seems like rank discrimination against religion."
Other conservative justices offered similar lines of questioning, leading some legal experts to predict a ruling that will indeed pave the way for taxpayer funds to go to religious charter schools.
Chartering a New Course
Critics warn this would be a massive blow to constitutional precedent, effectively toppling the wall between church and state.
“This is religious public education, fully and directly funded by taxpayers,” argues Rachel Laser, president and CEO of Americans United for Separation of Church and State. “It’s as abject a violation of religious freedom as they come, because it forces taxpayers to fund the heart of religion, religious education for religion that’s not their own.”
Interestingly, despite Oklahoma's recent expansion of religion into public life, the state's own Attorney General is speaking out against the St. Isidore case:
Others ask: what happens if a Satanic charter school were to open and seek state funding? Would taxpayers be on the hook then, or will funds be applied selectively to majority faiths?
Education or Indoctrination?
Critics also pointed out the irony of the Supreme Court hearing Mahmoud v. Taylor in the same session. That case could completely upend how conversations about LGBTQ+ subjects are broached in public schools nationwide, potentially forcing teachers nationwide to avoid even mentioning the existence of gay people, lest they face legal trouble from angry parents.
At the same time, in the very same session, the nation’s highest court could rule that taxpayers should fund explicitly Christian education.
An affirmative ruling for the Supreme Court would undoubtedly open the door to further funding of religious schools across the nation, at a time when public schools are already pinching pennies and struggling to adequately serve students.
The Supreme Court is expected to issue a ruling this summer.
What do you think? Should religious schools be entitled to funds from taxpayers who may not share their faith values?
46 comments
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Roberto A Rodriguez
Another attempt to break down the US Constitution's First Amendment. It amazes me how the president is allowed to challenge the very laws that are suppose to govern him. Anyway, I attended a private Catholic school, graduated in 1975, we'll take whatever funds the state, district or city will provide, but for the most part we do not need the money. I attended high school with future medical doctors, lawyers, dentists, college professors, business owners, bankers, CEO's, Navy Admirals and NASA engineers, because are parents were in such professions. Mind you, our class size was 70 students. Today the school alumni provides funds through various means & annual fundraising events, As of today, my alma mater is going strong & at full capacity since 1964. Public school funding should stay in public schools, to provide breakfast & any type of assistance the students may need. The funds should be used to purchase learning tools, provide for a safer environment & fund teachers salaries. Public schools are a place for all children to learn life, brighten their minds with world knowledge, to learn to co-exist with other students, teachers and staff. Religion, on the other hand should be practiced at home & their chosen location of mass prayer.
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Robert Gagnon
Eliminating the federal division of education is supposed to limit school regulation to the state. Supreme court should hold no sway over this, keep it in the state. Growing up catholic I noticed the kids going to the private catholic school were better educated. My family couldn't afford the school but would have put us there if they had the resources. They always did well privatized, to ask for state money now seems like a management or demographics problem. State and county schools have enough budget problems without losing funds to private religious schools.
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Amber Fry
Did you ever stop to think why? Did you realize the GOP has been making budget cuts to education for literally decades now? Rather than blending religion with the education we should be demanding they stop cutting education and start implementing more sound educational practices to the public schools. They purposefully have been cutting it for this exact idea and attitude. If they continue pushing this swap it will shut down public schools all together and the religious schools will start making specific cuts and changes to history and science., It's the long term goal. It has been since the 80s.
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Elizabeth Jane Erbe Wilcox
Here’s the thing about charter schools. They claim to be open to all but if a child with disabilities enrolls, the school gets taxpayer money and then the school can later say “oh golly, we can’t educate this child because we don’t have anyone who can teach them.” Off the child goes to a public school BUT the moneys stay with the charter school. Sure seems fishy. And there’s always the Constitution. But our current administration is so wrapped up in their christian nationalism. If this passes I hope Satanists WILL open charter schools.
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Carolyn Senne
It strikes me as hypocritical that the individuals who oppose using their tax money for medical procedures they disagree with are also the ones seeking my tax dollars to support their educational choices, which I do not agree with.
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Father Flanagan
There’s not much difference between murdering babies or mutilating young children with alleged mental illnesses in a ridiculous attempt to do what’s impossible as in change your gender and funding what I call “make believe” religion education - they are both dealing with mentally disturbed people who believe in things that just aren’t REAL! Like pretending that it’s not really a baby with that heartbeat, or that islam is a religion of “peace” when in fact it is an ideology of hate and death disguised as a religion. In other words - I agree that no tax dollars should be spent on religion but also abortion and the whole made up “trans” crap
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Douglas Robert Spindler
This is the Christians way of covertly bring back segregation in the schools and is well documented.
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James Riggle-Johnson
The government has no business funding any school that teaches religion. Unfortunately, SCOTUS leans into its religious beliefs far too often. I doubt this case will be any different. The sad part is that there is nothing the rest of us can do about it. I would also add that Oklahoma is already integrating bible lessons into their public school curriculum via their Superintendent of Education.
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David D. Smith
Since our country has laws in place against discrimination, if religious schools (i.e. Christian, Catholic, or whatever) are funded by tax payers, any religion can reap from that benefit, including Muslims, Satanist, Buddah, and more.
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Dr. Zerpersande, NSC
No, taxpayers’ money should not go to funding private religious schools. Religious schools…there’s an oxymoron for you.
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Steven Ferrell
There should be vouchers for every student and let parents decide where their children will attend school.
We have seen the public education system fail as we look at scores across the country. If taxpayers have to pay for public schools that push socialism, LBGXYZ/trans stuff which is against many parents, while not pushing the arts, math, reading, etc. then they should pay for teaching from private schools, that may include some religious education, but that mostly focus on reading, writing, math, arts, etc.Public schools are failing children and parents want better for their children.
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Karen Lynn
Carter schools ARE public schools. In AZ they're publicly funded at 50% of the traditional public schools. They fund the 'classroom' not the administration. Lots of parent volunteers and fundraisers to keep these schools going, but the kids generally receive a much better education. In AZ the number of charters actually had the effect of improving the traditional public schools, because they were loosing so much money out of their budget. Then, to compete, the public school chartered a Montessori kindergarten...in an attempt to keep the students in 'their' system.
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Colleen McAllister
Not Constitutional but who cares about that thesee days. Not those in charge that's for sure.
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Steven Ferrell
There should be vouchers for every student and let parents decide where their children will attend school.
We have seen the public education system fail as we look at scores across the country. If taxpayers have to pay for public schools that push socialism, LBGXYZ/trans stuff which is against many parents, while not pushing the arts, math, reading, etc. then they should pay for teaching from private schools, that may include some religious education, but that mostly focus on reading, writing, math, arts, etc.Public schools are failing children and parents want better for their children.
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Amber Fry
Yes, because the GOP have been cutting public education for decades now. You cannot keep demanding people have kids, put more kids in the system and then be cutting education every year with the growing demands. IF we really want the schools to do better we need to be pushing for more funding to them, not idiotic voucher programs. We shouldn't be giving so much to the military and diverting some of that funding back to actually educating the kids. Teachers need much better pay and materials such as science and history books need regularly updated to include new discoveries and add current event respectively. We need economics and civics back in the mandatory curriculum.
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Cyril R. VanKeirsbelk
It's not an accident public schools are failing. It's the plan. The public school system has been actively sabotaged for the past 50 years by the religious right. Vouchers create a school system that is much more problematic than the current system. Segregation, racism, and everything else that history shows us can be used to hold down others can be the product of a voucher system. It also creates a system where the government can favor one religion over another under the cover of academics. It can claim one religion's school doesn't meet the criteria and not pay the vouchers if they don't like the religion. The schools will be long gone before the courts sort it all out. Religions can be influenced by threats of funding cuts for not teaching the exact propaganda the government wants. The children will be the losers and large corporations and political donors the winners, every time.
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Patricia Ann Gross
"The charter school is explicitly Catholic, teaches Catholic theology, and preaches Catholic values. It also wants Oklahoma taxpayers to fund it – a motion which was denied by lower courts in Oklahoma earlier this year." If this, in fact, is the case, then the lower courts got it right. If the school were to abandon it's full Catholic ideology from the curriculum (or make it all optional), then they might have a case. One thing I don't quite understand, however, is how this gets classified as a Charter School, since Charter Schools are supposed to address a specific educational need (I've seen them for at-risk behavioral students, STEM, and VoTech disciplines). The only "special need" I see in this case is Catholic Theology. And thank you to all the Catholic School Alums who have weighed in on this topic.
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Merlin
Which belief? Christian only? This is a double edged sword. leave the Constitution alone.
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Alexander Clarke
NO!
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John P Maher
ITs ALL A GAME of CORRUPTION and tRUMP is SCREWING EVERYONE ESPECIALLY HIS VOTERS YEA " M A G A"
OFCOURSE THERE WAS A LOT of PROBLEMS BEFORE BUT OH BABY LOOK AT IT NOW and WORSE 2MORROW !
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Ronaldo
The parents or guardians of the students should get vouchers to use as they wish for the education of their children, and no schools should get tax money at all. Studies show that it costs an average of $15,000 per student per year in public schools. Areas that have vouchers rarely give more than $5,000 per student per year, with Texas giving $10,000, and parents who get reimbursed for home schooling get about $2,000 when it is paid out at all. If we gave the parents vouchers for the full amount, and let them choose the schools, then the government is not directly aiding any schools at all, including religious and public. If all the government did in return for these vouchers was require that the kids learn what has been taught in public schools and pass standard tests before they advance to the next grade, it would be fair to all, and the competition between schools might improve the overall quality of the education.
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Patricia Ann Gross
Who pays for the vouchers if not the taxpayers? Just asking.
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Cyril R. VanKeirsbelk
A voucher is not money. It's a promise to pay a certain amount that can be adjusted after the fact.
It's a system that can be abused so many ways.
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Patricia Ann Gross
Cyril, I'm not sure if you were responding to me or Ronaldo, but my question remains. Even if it is a "promisory note," the school eventually gets paid some (or all) of the money on the note. If the voucher is issued by the state, then the state pays the school. Where does the state get the money? From the taxpayers, therefore, a voucher system is a way to use taxpayer money under a different name. It's all bait and switch.
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Karen Lynn
Arizona has had Montessori, Waldorf and CHRISTIAN charter schools for well over 20 years. No problem, this is not a first.
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Father Flanagan
Not paid for with tax dollars - and if they are that’s discrimination against all the other religious schools not receiving that same funding!
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Kenneth Charles Busi
What's interesting here is that while this article provides long explanation of what a Charter School is, there's absolutely no discussion on the nature, origin, or intention of establishment clause in the Constitution. The dogma here is that taxpayer funded faith schools somehow establishes a national religion, and nothing can be further from the truth. If the court decides in favor of one religious school, alternate faiths will have the ability to apply for taxpayer funding as well. The families of the founders emigrated from a country where The Church of England was the national religion; the church was heavily rooted in the politics of the nation. Individuals were not free to worship as they chose. While the establishment clause prevents the formation of a national religion, whether it means that government must be completely disengaged from religion is the issue before the court.
The "separation of church and state" that has become dogma in our society is a creation of those who wish to completely remove religion from the society. This is a tactic of historical communism: to eliminate any authority above the government. "Our Constitution was made ONLY for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other"; are the words of John Adams, one the the constitutions framers. Our framers knew the limited powers they were vesting to the federal government could only be trusted to people with a higher authority than the government and themselves. This is precisely why the further society drifts from the founders vision of individuals harboring a higher authority, the further the society drifts from the Constitution.-
Tecla Caryl Loup
Sounds like an argument for creeping religiosity to me.
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Father Flanagan
No way do I want my tax dollars spent on religious education. The whole premise is ridiculous, you claim “in god we trust” but in reality you don’t place any trust in your imaginary deity otherwise this would not even be a discussion! Teach your kids patriotism and citizenship and most importantly personal responsibility for themselves and their actions!
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Patricia G. Humphries
I never thought I'd agree with this but recently I have been giving Catholic schools more thought.
My daughter has been in Indianapolis Public schools from PK - 8. Until 8th grade she was in an IPS Montessori school, which was smaller in size and teacher/student ratio. She has an IEP and it was a struggle but she did make progress. In grade 8 IPS had reorganized schools and she had to go to a larger and less staffed IPS school. Her grades have nose dived in language in math. Her IEP teacher of record has not kept up the standards of her IEP. I can't get call backs. And my child is absolutely not ready for high school. The top ranked private schools have very high tuition. The charter schools aren't ranked any better than IPS. So I researched the ranking of the Catholic schools. Their rankings are impressive. Not as high as the very costly tuition at the best private schools but I've been told their is assistance. I've talked to other parents that have had kids in Indianapolis Catholic schools and they say their children were required to take one theology class and they were not pressured about religion. So yes, I am going to follow up with a Catholic school and see if I can get an appointment to discuss the possibilities. And yes, I wish the money followed my daughter to a school that can actually teach her.
Pat Humphries, Elizabeth's Mom
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Daniel Todd Kamm
Nothing like the charter school systems! I work in public schools, not as a public school employee, but as a mental health professional from a private agency providing school-based mental health services; I have worked at numerous schools throughout the district, often several at a time, and since COVID, I have landed at one school, in a neighborhood with substandard public housing with poor water and electric infrastructure, few resources for people living in the neighborhood aside from our school, a church, a declining health center, and a past aging neighborhood rec center... a lot of issues: drugs, crime, mental health, violence, regular shootings, etc.
Then there are our charter schools... a kid transfers out of public, the dollars go with the child... immediately... the charter can't meet the child's needs, (some do, but most do not provide for kids with special needs, they do not have to implement or sustain or report a child's progress via 504 law or and IEP, they often claim they can't afford to retain trained intervention specialists to meet kids' special needs (aside from the fact that the dollars go with the kids) ... and when kids cant manage and fail without the full range of educational, (OT, PT, Speech, etc.) or emotional and behavioral mandated in the public system.. the charters send the kids back to public and he money does not go with the child... immediately... they hang on to it for months, while the public schools absorb the costs of the kids' educational needs with NO additional funding.
The Religious Charters are no better... it's about money... and they take the money from the public systems and delay returning it without any benefit to the kids, except for the kids who don't seem to have problems.
Additionally... my agency's embedded presence does not cost the school anything but office space and access to certain tech needs. We offer services via Medicaid, private insurance, and we have temporary funding to full insurance for those who do not have insurance for whatever reason can't afford private pay, etc.
Our local charters, religiously aligned or not, do not offer similar supports and services: to my knowledge there have been only two charters in our entire area (including outside our local SD) that attempted partnering with a mental health agency... one is still successful... the other... bought and sold, bought and sold... not the place to send any child who may need additional support... and per my last call with that school they still had no intervention specialist for the specialist needs kids... they don't support them so they can't keep them... .
Public dollars need to stay in public schools for all of the reasons above. Efforts to fund religious charter schools publicly is a tricky slope not just financially, not just legally (constitutionally) but those schools have a very poor record of child abuse regardless of the belief system.
Besides...what they want are little white kids and kids of colour who can pretend to be white, knowing they are not and will never be treated as a such.
Done...
Peace, Out tk
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Daniel Todd Kamm
And Pat H. above... you can send your kid to any doctrinal school you want regardless of whether kids or families feel pressured to conform to certain ideologies, etc.. but I would advise a more liberally instructed school.
I also advise that if the school is financially out of reach, you apply for and utilize every resource the school has to offer to support your child's education... they have a lot more dollars than they let on... and you may well qualify for a significant financial underwriting... so take advantage of it...! Or find a cheaper school that can offer the education you desire for your kid, as they may have some great financial options too!
There is no reason that your choice to send your child to a religious school or a charter school needs to be funded with public dollars that puts others at a disadvantage. And that's not a very christian way of doing things anyway, is it?
Because most public schools are funded by property taxes (not a good system) and struck down in this state many many many years ago (like 30) as inequitable... and the state is under court supervision to fund schools differently...and it has been ignored and nothing has changed... except for these charter schools and efforts to defend public schools and divert the monies to private and religious schools... we are still "here" due to the preponderance of right wingers in our state legislatures.
You don't want your kid caught up in that. I would hope that you do not want to take away from the needs of our special needs and other kids, just so public dollars can fund your child's education.
That would be sad.
And I know you don't want that and will find a way... I wish you peace, luck and success in your school search!
tk
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Patricia G. Humphries
Daniel Todd Kamm. Yes, I am aware the issues at IPS is the long term drain of funding. With that said I am going to set my daughter up to succeed by whatever means I have too. I am fortunate that my daughter does have some funds of her own (from my Social Security). And I have talked to some of her Dad's family that had their children at the school I am going to talk to. I am told there is scholarships and different funds available. I may still have some fees though but I believe I can find a way to make this happen. I've also to talked to some other liberal minded friends had their son at Brebeuf HS. They were happy with it there. My main concern is getting her HS ready so we can get her into at least a 2-yr program after HS. My daughter has learning disabilities. She can read well. She can learn. But it takes her longer and her main disability presently is her belief that she can't do it. I know she can. And half my family was raised Catholic and made it out ok so I'm really not sweating her being at Catholic school.
Thanks for you comments though. We all just want our kids to have the best shot. Personally I don't like living in a flaming red state but I'm here. And I'm looking at the best way to get my kid ready for college.
Peace to all...
Lizzy's Mom
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Rev Ned
No! Read the Constitution.
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Shawn Dalton Lawson
All I can think is, Of course its Tax-Funded
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Andrew G. Johnson
I do understand that religious based schools (mostly Catholic and Protestant) in my part of rural Wisconsin have a tough time of competing for students with traditional public institutions. The religious schools see declining enrollments, teacher challenges, and the inability to offer comparable learning environments. So, in that in that context, where the school's survival is in question, there seems to be a rational argument to compete for public funds. Yet, I am totally against the redirection of limited public education funds to religious-based charter schools. It would create a very slippery slope for future requests to access/divert education funds. And the courts would be placing themselves in a challenging role of deciding "supportable" vs. "unsupportable" charter efforts. Or worst yet, the courts may be influenced by political and theologic influencers. Finally, to explore this issue, I would need to understand if an increase of publicly-source funds would truly help the sustainability of traditional Christian school offerings, or if there is another systemic cause of the lack of support by parents.
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Ari Joseph Bertine
If they do this, I am absolutely opening a pagan charter school. What's good for the goose is good for the gander.
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Eberhard Bruner
I think this "separation of church and state" has been misused quite often. To the point of removing anything that even mentions God. We, as ministers, should think hard about disassociating our country from our faith, which was a cornerstone of our founding. The Constitution only says that the government should not favor any particular church or religion, not to completely isolate itself from faith. That line of thinking allowed the legal murder of 10's of millions completely defenseless humans and the proliferation, nay, outright support, of the LGBTQ+ agenda. We WILL be judged by our choices! As to schools: if they provide students with an education in reading, writing, math, etc. they should be eligible for the same financial support as any other school. That said, I think the states should control their own school systems, not the federal government (it truly has done a lousy job, as evidenced by our declining academic ooutcomes).
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Tecla Caryl Loup
Didn't provide a second-class education when I attended public schools back in the dark ages. Minimally, there should be national standards and requirements. I desperately wish that grammar and punctuation were taught in grade schools today, but sadly that seems to have fallen by the wayside. We learned how to diagram sentences, and I don't remember a single teacher who thought that plurals involved apostrophes. Drives me crazy & charges me for the ride. Or modernly, drive's me crazy and charge's me for the ride.
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Tecla Caryl Loup
And I don't see what the LGB etc. agenda has to do at all with killing zillions. No need to teach favorability/unfavorability on that score. Leave them kids alone. Or aren't you from the Pink Floyd generation?
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Danielle Elizabeth Ostach
I have strong feeling that people are entitled to belief and worship how they want but my tax dollars do not get to support their religious indoctrination. There is separation between church and state in the constitution (first amendment also known as establishment clause, this is why churches are not taxed either). The State can not establish religion or support establishing religion or teaching religion. This separation should not be breeched and no religious school with any kind of forced religious indoctrination should be allowed.
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Walter J. Holbrook
Are any of you surprised at this
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Walter J. Holbrook
Are any of you surprised at this
How many more blatantly unconstitutional “laws” are going into effect which further erodes our democracy…? Oh, I forgot… the cruelty is the point.
They are in power and going one step at a time towards dictator control.
We saw this happen 92 years ago.