Does the Constitution require religious charter schools?
On January 24, 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to decide whether the Free Exercise Clause requires states to allow religious charter schools. The Supreme Court will hold oral argument on April 30 and issue a decision by the end of June 2025. The two cases giving rise to this appeal are St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School v. Drummond and Oklahoma Statewide Charter School Board v. Drummond, and they involve review of a decision by the Oklahoma Supreme Court in which it held that St. Isidore, a Catholic online school, could not be authorized as an Oklahoma charter school because it was a public school and, therefore, it would be a violation of the Establishment Clause to allow a public school to endorse a specific religious viewpoint.
The U.S. Supreme Court will consider two questions. First, are Oklahoma charter schools “state actors” or “private actors”? Second, if they are private actors, then does Oklahoma violate the Free Exercise Clause by prohibiting private religious charter schools? Read more in the attached PDF.
