Drummond files brief with U.S. Supreme Court on proposed religious public charter school
OKLAHOMA CITY (March 31, 2025) – With the U.S. Supreme Court set to hear oral arguments next month over a proposed Catholic public school in Oklahoma, Attorney General Gentner Drummond today filed a brief outlining how a state-sponsored and taxpayer-funded religious public charter school is not required by—and indeed violates—the U.S. Constitution.
Drummond stated that supporters of St. Isidore of Seville Virtual Catholic Charter School have staked their argument on an erroneous conceit.
The “question is whether Oklahoma’s charter schools are public schools,” read the brief. “And, on that question, Oklahoma law, federal law, and ordinary meaning all lead to the same conclusion: They are.”
The brief noted that charter schools “bear all the classic indicia of public schools.” Public charter schools are free, open to all, established and funded by the state, and can be closed by the state. Moreover, public charter schools are subject to state regulation and oversight concerning curriculum, testing and similar matters.
“It is thus no surprise that federal law and the laws of 46 States, including Oklahoma, define charter schools as public schools,” the filing stated.
Indeed, Oklahoma law mirrors the federal charter school program (CSP) in requiring that a charter school “shall be nonsectarian in its programs, admission policies, employment practices, and all other operations.”
Drummond reiterated that “[t]he exclusion of religious institutions from generally available benefits programs based solely on religion is odious to the Constitution.” While he clearly “condemns such discrimination,” Drummond pointed out that Oklahoma’s commitment to school choice includes tax credits and tuition assistance for religious private schools.
“Oklahoma readily agrees that there is no categorial bar against public monies reaching (and funding) private religious schools, including for devotional instruction and ministry, through such parental choice programs,” stated the filing. “No one doubts that such an education can be profoundly valuable. But it is not one that States must provide in public schools.”
In addition, the brief details how a court ruling in favor of St. Isidore would have “sweeping consequences. A ruling that Oklahoma’s charter-school law unconstitutionally discriminates against religion would upend the federal CSP and charter-school laws nationwide, sowing chaos and confusion for millions of charter-school students.”
Such a ruling would subject religious institutions to state regulation from which they are typically immune, the brief stated.
In June 2023, the Statewide Virtual Charter School Board approved a contract with St. Isidore. Drummond contested that action as a violation of the state and U.S. constitutions, filing suit against the board that October. His position subsequently was reaffirmed by the Oklahoma Supreme Court.
