The Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that the creation of a publicly-funded religious charter school, St. Isidore of Seville Virtual Charter School violates the First Amendment and Oklahoma State Constitution.
The court said the St. Isidore contract violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment of the US Constitution, which says the government “shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion.” This is binding on state through the Fourteenth Amendment. The court cited precedent saying this means states cannot pass laws “which aid one religion, aid all religions, or prefer one religion over another.” The Establishment Clause becomes relevant when a state actor is involved in a religious activity, which is implicated by St. Isidore requiring its students to participate in religious teachings or co-curricular programs.
The US Supreme Court has created multiple tests to determine if an entity is a state actor. First, the “entwinement” test states that “a nominally private entity [i]s a state actor . . . when it is ‘entwined with governmental policies,’ or when the government is ‘entwined in [its] management or control.'” The state’s Charter School Board would have provided oversight of performance and legal compliance. The public function test states that “the private entity performs a traditional, exclusive public function.” In this case, the Oklahoma Constitution provides that the state will provide a free public education, which is a public function.
The court said the St. Isidore contract also violated Article 2, § 5 of the Oklahoma Constitution, which prohibits public money or property to be donated, appropriated, or used for the use of benefit of any sect, church, denomination, or priest.
Article 1, § 5 of the Oklahoma Constitution states that charter schools are public institutions that are sponsored by a government entity. These schools must be non-sectarian in their admissions policies and (school) programs. The court found that St. Isidore fell outside of scope of the public institution definition because it altered various terms in their model contract, which allowed it to operate as a religious charter school.
The Americans United For Separation of Church and State stated that the Oklahoma Supreme Court decision “safeguards public education and upholds the separation of religion and government.” Oklahoma is not the only state that has been pushing the limits of the separation of religion and government: Louisiana recently passed a bill requiring public school classrooms to display the Ten Commandments.
