Oklahoma Supreme Court: Catholic virtual charter school violates both state and U.S. Constitutions

The Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that the Statewide Virtual Charter School Board violated both the state and the federal constitutions when it voted to approve a contract for a charter school that would provide religious instruction based on the Catholic faith.

Proponents, including Governor Kevin Stitt and State Superintendent Ryan Walters, argued that approving the contract actually supported religious freedom,

Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond argued from the beginning that the move was a clear violation of black-letter law.

The Oklahoma Constitution, Article I, Section 5 reads: “ Provisions shall be made for the establishment and maintenance of a system of public schools, which shall be open to all the children of the state and free from sectarian control; and said schools shall always be conducted in English: Provided, that nothing herein shall preclude the teaching of other languages in said public schools. ”

Article II, Section 5 of the Oklahoma Constitution is even more specific: “ No public money or property shall ever be appropriated, applied, donated, or used, directly or indirectly, for the use, benefit, or support of any sect, church, denomination, or system of religion, or for the use, benefit, or support of any priest, preacher, minister, or other religious teacher or dignitary, or sectarian institution as such .”

Drummond foresaw a situation in which the state might have to approve charter schools espousing Sharia law, or Satanism.

So he sued, asking the state’s highest court to block the contract, and Tuesday, it did just that.

By a 6-1-1-1 vote, with six justices concurring, one partially concurring, one dissenting, and one recusing, the court ordered the charter school board to rescind the contract - just days before the state would have begun providing funding with the beginning of the next fiscal year, July 1st.

Drummond sent KRMG a statement regarding Tuesday’s decision, which reads in part:

“This decision is a tremendous victory for religious liberty. The framers of the U.S. Constitution and those who drafted Oklahoma’s Constitution clearly understood how best to protect religious freedom: by preventing the State from sponsoring any religion at all. Now Oklahomans can be assured that our tax dollars will not fund the teachings of Sharia Law or even Satanism. While I understand that the Governor and other politicians are disappointed with this outcome, I hope that the people of Oklahoma can rejoice that they will not be compelled to fund radical religious schools that violate their faith.”