Oklahoma approves first religious charter school in the US

The nation’s first religious charter school was approved in Oklahoma on Monday, handing a victory to Christian conservatives, but opening the door to a constitutional battle over whether taxpayer dollars can directly fund religious schools.

The online school, St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual

School, would be run by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Oklahoma City and the Diocese of Tulsa, with religious teachings embedded in the curriculum, including in math and reading. Yet as a charter school — a type of public school that is independently managed — it would be funded by taxpayer dollars.

After a nearly three-hour meeting, and despite concerns raised by its legal counsel, the Oklahoma Statewide Virtual Charter School Board approved the school in a 3-2 vote, including a “yes” vote from a new member who was appointed Friday.

The relatively obscure board is made up of appointees of Governor Kevin Stitt, a Republican who supports religious charter schools, and leaders of the Republican-controlled state Legislature.

The approval — which is almost certain to be challenged in court — comes amid a broader conservative push to allow taxpayer dollars to go toward religious schools, including in the form of universal school vouchers, which have been approved in five states in the past year. The movement has been bolstered by recent rulings by the US Supreme Court, which has increasingly signaled its support for directing taxpayer money to religious schools.

The decision in Oklahoma sets the stage for a high-profile legal fight that could have wideranging implications for charter schools, which make up 8 percent of public schools in the United States.

Opponents had lined up against the proposal, arguing that it was a brazen and messy melding of church and state, and one that ran afoul of the public nature of charter schools.