Dive Brief:
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Public school parents, public education advocates and faith leaders asked Oklahoma County District Court on Friday to temporarily prevent the nation's first religious charter school from opening and receiving state funds in the 2024-25 school year as lawsuits challenging the school's creation remain pending.
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The plaintiffs — who have brought a separate lawsuit from a more prominent one pending before the Oklahoma Supreme Court and argued by state Attorney General Gentner Drummond — claim the spending of their tax dollars on St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual Charter School would cause "irreparable harm" to taxpayers whose money "will be spent illegally."
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The request for a temporary injunction adds to pressure on the state's legal system to weigh in on the case before the school opens in July. In the meantime, the religious charter school has already begun hiring staff and enrolling students, per court documents.
Dive Insight:
The nation's eyes are on the St. Isidore case as a study on how Supreme Court decisions in recent years — which left open the possibility of public funding for religious schools — blur the line between church and state in public K-12.
The case escalated after the Statewide Virtual Charter School Board in October 2023 approved the religious charter's contract in a split 3-2 vote. At the time, board members acknowledged that the school and their decision to approve it was controversial — and said they were prepared for legal pushback.
Even prior to their vote, in July 2023, the board was taken to district court by the American Civil Liberties Union and other civil rights groups representing taxpayers — the same plaintiffs calling for the injunction on Friday.
And just 10 days after the board's vote to finalize St. Isidore's contract, the Oklahoma attorney general challenged the school's constitutionality in a high-profile lawsuit filed in the state's Supreme Court.
While plaintiffs represented by the ACLU and other groups in the lower court support Drummond's lawsuit, their arguments and request to stop the religious charter from opening stand separately.
"Our case presents arguments that were not a part of the Attorney General’s case and are unlikely to be addressed by the Oklahoma Supreme Court," said Alex Luchenitser, associate vice president and associate legal director at Americans United for Separation of Church and State, one of the civil rights organizations suing in district court, in an email.
Their lawsuit claims that St. Isidore plans to discriminate on the basis of religion, sexual orientation and gender identity. Further, it alleges that the school has not committed to adequately serving children with disabilities.
Job postings for the school show some positions call for "a strong, Catholic disposition and spirit of hospitality and excellence." Teachers are "required to convey the Church's message and to assist in carrying out the Church's mission."
Luchenitser said he plans for his case to continue even if the Oklahoma Supreme Court rules against Drummond in his case, adding that plaintiffs filed the temporary injunction request as a cautionary measure "to ensure that state funds are not paid" to support the school.
"We cannot predict when the Oklahoma Supreme Court will rule or how it will rule," Luchenitser said.
Drummond argued his case in front of the state's high court in April. The justices seemed to recognize its time-sensitive nature, with the school set to open July 1 for the 2024-25 school year.
With the school year just weeks away, however, no decision has yet been released.
Once the decision is made, the case could still be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court — a possibility acknowledged by both Drummond and Oklahoma Supreme Court justices.
