The US. Supreme Court heard arguments in a landmark case regarding an Oklahoma charter school contract.
The SCOTUS reviewed the case after the state’s Supreme Court blocked a Catholic Church from being considered a charter school.
The lower court cited concerns that the catholic organization violated state and federal bans on government-sponsored sectarian education, as ABC News reported.
However, the conservative majority on the nation’s Supreme Court now appears to be poised to green light the first-ever religious charter school in the United States.
If the high court sides with the Catholic Church, it could pave the way for the first religious school directly funded by taxpayers.
A decision that overturns the state high court would have far-reaching consequences across the country, particularly in the 45 states where over 3.8 million students attend 8,000 charter schools.
According to the Republican attorney general of the state, charter schools serve as an extension of the state government that is bound by the principles of separation of church and state because they are public institutions that are accessible to everyone and closely monitored.
The justices weighed the First Amendment’s ban on state establishment of religion and protection of free exercise of religious