Oklahoma lawsuit asks court to block nation’s first religious public charter school

A group of parents, students and interest groups has filed a lawsuit against an Oklahoma school board to stop the opening of the nation’s first religious public charter school, saying the tax-funded Catholic school violates the separation of church and state.

The 70-page complaint filed Monday in Oklahoma court claims that authorization for a Catholic public charter school violates aspects of the state constitution, which protects against discrimination including that based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

The plaintiffs say that St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School, which is set to open next year, will discriminate against LGBTQ+ students and will indoctrinate students with Catholic teachings.

They also claim that St. Isidore, located in Oklahoma City, isn’t able to provide for disabled students and that it would be led by the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City.

“Public schools and other governmental entities and state actors are prohibited from discriminating based on religion, coercing people to engage in religious activity or undertake religious instruction, or proselytizing or indoctrinating people in any religion,” the lawsuit reads.

The plaintiffs are represented by the American Civil Liberties Union, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, the Education Law Center and the Freedom From Religion Foundation. They include parents of disabled students, LGBTQ+ students and advocates against the Catholic school, including the nonprofit Oklahoma Parent Legislative Action Committee.

Their lawsuit asks the court to block the school from being funded as a public charter school.

They’re suing the Statewide Virtual Charter School Board, which approved the school’s charter school application in a 3-2 vote on June 5.

The board and the school did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Washington Times.

A spokesperson for the Statewide Virtual Charter School Board said it does not comment on pending litigation.

Avery Holt, a spokesperson for the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City, said lawyers have advised officials not to comment on the lawsuit.

Brett Farley, executive director of the Catholic Conference of Oklahoma, anticipated the lawsuit.

“News of a suit from these organizations comes as no surprise since they have indicated early in this process their intentions to litigate,” Mr. Farley told the AP. “We remain confident that the Oklahoma court will ultimately agree with the U.S. Supreme Court’s opinion in favor of religious liberty.”

Ryan Walters, the state superintendent of public instruction, called the litigation an attack on religious liberty by focusing on the Catholic school.

“It is time to end atheism as the state sponsored religion,” Mr. Walters said. “Suing and targeting the Catholic Virtual Charter School is religious persecution because of one’s faith, which is the very reason that religious freedom is the very reason that religious freedom is constitutionally protected.”

Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt, a Republican, had praised the board’s decision as a “win for religious liberty.” The state enacted a law this year to incentivize parents to send their children to private schools — including religious ones — by offering a tax credit of a minimum of $5,000.

Rachel Laser, president and CEO of Americans United, said it would be a sea change for American democracy to have a public school that is religious.

“It’s hard to think of a clearer violation of the religious freedom of Oklahoma taxpayers and public-school families than the state establishing a public school that is run as a religious school. We’re witnessing a full-on assault on church-state separation and public education — and religious public charter schools are the next frontier. America needs a national recommitment to church-state separation,” Ms. Laser said.

• This article is based in part on wire service reports.