The Supreme Court on Wednesday was divided over a Catholic virtual charter school’s bid to become the country’s first religious charter school. With Justice Amy Coney Barrett recused from the case, the outcome appeared to hinge on the vote of Chief Justice John Roberts, who asked probing questions of both sides but did not make his position clear.
The case began two years ago, when Oklahoma’s charter school board approved an application by the archdiocese of Oklahoma City and the diocese of Tulsa to establish St. Isidore of Seville, a virtual Catholic charter school. Although the state law governing charter schools requires them to be non-religious “in their programs, admissions policies, and other operations,” the board’s contract with St. Isidore provided that the school could freely exercise its religious beliefs.
Gentner Drummond, the state’s Republican attorney general, went to the Oklahoma Supreme Court, asking it to invalidate the board’s contract with St. Isidore.
The state supreme court agreed to do so. St. Isidore, the state court ruled, is a public school and therefore required under state law to be non-religious.
Representing the Oklahoma charter school board, James Campbell told the justices that the state’s charter school program relies on