9 Oklahoma residents, NGO file lawsuit against first religious charter school in U.S
OKLAHOMA CITY, Oklahoma- Nine Oklahoma residents, along with a non-governmental organization, have filed suit to prevent the state from funding St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School.
This school is said to be the first religious charter school in the United States.
The Oklahoma Statewide Virtual Charter School board approved the online facility by a 3-2 vote.
The school is a joint project of the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City and the Diocese of Tulsa. It will provide a Catholic education to children beginning in the 2024-25 school year.
The plaintiffs argue that state support and funding for a religious charter school violates the principle of separation of church and state.
They claim that forcing taxpayers to support religious teachings is not consistent with religious freedom.
“Religious liberty allows us to worship according to our faith. But forcing Oklahomans to fund religious teachings with their tax dollars is not religious freedom. It is state-sponsored religion, which violates the Oklahoma Constitution and the Oklahoma Charter Schools Act,” said Misty Bradley, chair of the Oklahoma Parent Legislative Action Committee (OKPLAC), in a statement.
Promoting a religion, they say, violates the Oklahoma Constitution and the Oklahoma Charter Schools Act.
Many organizations supporting the lawsuit argue that the Oklahoma public school system should be open to all students regardless of background.
It is estimated that St. Isidore Catholic Virtual School is expected to cost taxpayers more than $26 million in its first five years of operation.
The plaintiffs are represented by the ACLU, Americans United for Separation of Church and State (AU), Education Law Center, and Freedom From Religion Foundation, who are assisted by Oklahoma-based counsel Odom & Sparks PLLC and J. Douglas Mann.
As Daniel Mach and Heather L. Weaver, respectively the director and a senior staff attorney at the ACLU Program on Freedom of Religion and Belief, explained in a Monday blog post.
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