The Supreme Court just slammed the brakes on Oklahoma’s bid to fund a Catholic charter school, leaving conservatives fuming. In a 4-4 tie, with Justice Amy Coney Barrett sitting it out, the court upheld Oklahoma’s ruling that public cash can’t flow to St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School. The decision stings for those who see religious freedom under siege.
The court’s one-liner—“The judgment is affirmed by an equally divided Court”—sealed the fate of St. Isidore’s funding hopes. Oklahoma’s top court had already ruled that bankrolling the school violates the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause. This tie vote, lacking Barrett’s input, leaves the status quo intact.
Back in June 2023, the Oklahoma Statewide Virtual Charter School Board greenlit St. Isidore’s contract, opening the door to public funds. The school promised to operate as a free, open-to-all institution, complying with all education laws. Yet, it proudly declared its mission to “fully embrace” Catholic teachings and evangelize.
That Catholic fervor sparked a firestorm. Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond didn’t mince words, calling the charter approval an “unlawful sponsorship” of a sectarian outfit. He sued to block it, arguing it threatened the religious liberty of all four million Oklahomans.
Drummond’s lawsuit hit paydirt when the Oklahoma Supreme Court sided with him. The court ruled that funneling taxpayer dollars to a religious school crosses a constitutional line. St. Isidore’s dreams of state funding were effectively dead in the water.
Not ones to back down, St. Isidore’s backers appealed to the Supreme Court, which took the case in October. Oral arguments last month stretched over two hours, with justices split down ideological lines. The debate was heated, and the outcome hung in the balance.
Justices wrestled with whether charter schools like St. Isidore are public entities bound by the Establishment Clause or private ones free to flex their religious muscle. St. Isidore’s team argued they’re private, but that didn’t sway the Oklahoma court. The tie vote suggests the high court couldn’t settle the question either.
Some justices, like Ketanji Brown Jackson, Sonia Sotomayor, and Elena Kagan, zeroed in on fairness. They grilled St. Isidore’s lawyers on how the school would handle students from different faiths. The answers, it seems, didn’t inspire much confidence.
The court also pondered if blocking St. Isidore’s funding violated the Free Exercise Clause by hampering its religious mission. Conservative justices, who’ve recently backed taxpayer funds for non-sectarian religious services like adoption agencies, seemed sympathetic. But without Barrett, they couldn’t tip the scales.
The 4-4 split is a bitter pill for conservatives hoping to expand religious liberty. The court’s recent rulings have leaned toward allowing public funds for religious groups doing secular work. This case, though, shows the limits of that trend when faith-based education is on the line.
Drummond’s claim that St. Isidore’s charter was a “serious threat” to Oklahomans’ liberty rings hollow to those who see this as government overreach. Religious schools, they argue, deserve a seat at the table if they meet state standards. Turns out, the Establishment Clause still packs a punch.
The justices also debated how much control Oklahoma could exert over St. Isidore’s curriculum if funding were approved. Would the state dictate what’s taught in a religious school? That question, left unanswered, highlights the messy intersection of faith and public policy.
For now, St. Isidore’s backers are left licking their wounds. The school can still operate privately, but without public funds, its reach will be limited. The ruling sends a clear signal: taxpayer dollars and religious education don’t mix.
The tie vote leaves the door cracked for future challenges, but conservatives need a full bench to shift the tide. Barrett’s recusal, likely due to a conflict of interest, underscores how fragile these cases are. One justice’s absence can derail years of legal wrangling.
This decision isn’t the end of the road for religious charter schools, but it’s a detour. Conservatives will keep pushing, arguing that excluding faith-based schools from public funds is discrimination dressed up as neutrality. For now, though, the Constitution’s wall between church and state stands firm.
