Free Market Friday: Court errs on religious school decision

The Oklahoma Supreme Court recently ruled that the Catholic Church cannot operate a Catholic charter school, arguing the church becomes a state actor when operating a public charter school.

The decision is the latest in which the Oklahoma Supreme Court has issued a ruling that is at odds with logic.

Following several U.S. Supreme Court rulings that struck down prohibitions on the participation of religious entities in state programs nationwide, the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City and the Diocese of Tulsa applied to open the nation’s first religious public charter school. The proposed St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School would have been funded with state tax dollars and it would have included Catholic teaching as part of its educational mission, along with standard educational material.

Opponents argued the church could not operate a state charter school, citing Article II, Section 5 of the Oklahoma Constitution, which declares, “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.”

A majority of Oklahoma Supreme Court justices agreed and held that the Catholic Church cannot operate a charter school. But a dissent from Oklahoma Supreme Court Justice Dana Kuehn highlights the gaping errors of logic in the majority opinion.

Kuehn wrote that the Oklahoma Constitution “does not bar the State from contracting for education services with sectarian organizations, so long as a state-funded, secular education remains available statewide. St. Isidore would not be replacing any secular school, only adding to the options available, which is the heart of the Charter Schools Act. Simply put, requiring the state to fund non-sectarian education is not the same as allowing some funds to flow to sectarian education programs.”

No parent would have been required to enroll their child in St. Isidore. Only those who proactively chose to enroll their children in the school would have done so. And those who don’t want a Catholic education for their child could continue to send their students to traditional public schools.

For too long, activist judges have falsely claimed a ban on state favoritism of any specific religion requires active state opposition to religious entities. Sadly, it appears a majority of judges serving on the Oklahoma Supreme Court have adopted that stance.

Jonathan Small serves as president of the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs ( www.ocpathink.org ).

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