Supreme Court Tie on Charter School Hurts Oklahoma Students

On Thursday, an equally divided United States Supreme Court issued a per curiam opinion in St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School v. Drummond – a case that would have allowed the state of Oklahoma to use government funds to run a faith-based school.

A “per curiam opinion” is a decision issued “by the court” and doesn’t identify how specific judges ruled in the particular case.

Given the current makeup of the High Court, it’s likely that Justices Thomas, Alito, Gorsuch and Kavanaugh voted in favor of allowing the state-sponsored charter school and Chief Justice John Roberts, along with Justices Sotomayor, Kagan, and Jackson voted against it.

Justice Barrett recused herself from the case. While she didn’t offer an explanation at the time, it’s assumed she did so because of her close friendship with Nicole Stelle Garnett, a former fellow professor at Notre Dame Law School and a legal advisor for St. Isidore.

Unfortunately, the 4-4 split means the Oklahoma Supreme Court’s decision blocking the school will stand. However, given the tie, it doesn’t set any national precedent, meaning it remains an open question whether government dollars can be used to help fund faith-based schools.

First Liberty Institute’s Executive Counsel Hiram Sasser, who represented the Oklahoma Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters, the State Board of Education, and the State Department of Education in the case, expressed frustration after the ruling.

“We are disappointed, but the result of this 4-4 decision with no opinion is that the fight against religious bigotry will continue in Oklahoma and across the country,” said Sasser. “We will not stop until we can bring an end to religious discrimination in education.”

Oklahoma’s Ryan Walters agreed.

“Allowing the exclusion of religious schools from our charter school program in the name of 19th century religious bigotry is wrong,” said Superintendent Walters. “As state superintendent, I will always stand with parents and families in opposition to religious discrimination and fight until all children in Oklahoma are free to choose the school that serves them best, religious or otherwise.”  

Jim Campbell, who serves as Chief Legal Counsel for our friends at Alliance Defending Freedom, and who represented the Oklahoma Charter School Board, also weighed in.

“Oklahoma parents and children are better off with more educational choices, not fewer … The U.S. Supreme Court has been clear that when the government creates programs and invites groups to participate, it can’t single out religious groups for exclusion, and we will continue our work to protect this vital freedom for parents and students.”

At a time when headlines across the country regularly herald the violence, bad behavior and poor educational outcomes in so many public schools, it’s a tragedy that a divided Supreme Court has either delayed or derailed altogether a heartfelt dose of help to Oklahoma families.

“Isidore of Seville,” who was born in 560 AD, was known as “The Schoolmaster of the Middle Ages.” A prolific writer, he penned numerous books and encyclopedias, organized and helped start numerous seminaries, and believed well educated followers of Christ were also better citizens of the world.

“All spiritual growth comes from reading and reflection,” he once wrote. “By reading we learn what we did not know; by reflection we retain what we have learned. The conscientious reader will be more concerned to carry out what he has read than merely to acquire knowledge of it. In reading we aim at knowing, but we must put into practice what we have learned in our course of study.”

Organizers behind St. Isidore have said from the beginning that their goal has been to serve “God and families by spiritually and academically preparing students, Catholic and non-Catholic alike, for lives of intellectual excellence, holiness, and service to others with the ultimate goal of eternal salvation by bringing quality, Catholic education to all parts of Oklahoma.”

Let’s continue to pray that men and women of faith won’t be disheartened by this latest ruling and continue to pursue the constitutionality of faith-based publicly funded charter schools.

Image from Shutterstock.