Conservative justices on the U.S. Supreme Court appeared open to allowing a Catholic virtual school in Oklahoma to operate as a publicly funded charter school.
The proposed school, St. Isidore of Seville, would be the first religious charter school in the country. A lower court previously blocked its creation, citing the First Amendment’s establishment clause.
Justice Sonia Sotomayor challenged the legality of public funds going to religious instruction, saying, “We’re not going to pay religious leaders to teach their religion.”
The case pits the Constitution’s two religion clauses against each other. Lawyers for the state and for St. Isidore argued that blocking the school violated the free exercise clause, noting the school is privately organized and not an extension of the government.
Oklahoma’s top court had ruled the school would act as a state surrogate, and thus could not incorporate religious teaching while receiving public funds.
Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Neil Gorsuch questioned whether excluding the school would constitute religious discrimination, while Chief Justice
John Roberts pointed to prior rulings allowing religious groups to participate in public services. The court’s ruling, expected by June, could reshape how states handle religion in publicly funded education.
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