The St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School in Oklahoma , slated to become the first religious charter school in the nation, faces the usual fury of secularists trying to thwart its progress. But a group of Catholic nuns in Oregon 100 years ago and this Supreme Court show why the school should prevail and provide encouragement to other states expanding educational options.
To understand the historical context, let’s recall that in the years after World War I, public education became the focus of intense anti-Catholic bias. In Oregon, for example, an initiative was passed by a slim majority of voters to amend the state’s Compulsory Education Act by eliminating an existing exception for attendees of private schools. The aim was to force Catholic parochial schools to close. Not surprisingly, the initiative had the support of the Ku Klux Klan, which “believed that the law was necessary to preserve and perpetuate a homogeneous American culture.”
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The Sisters of the Holy Name sued, alleging that "the enactment conflicts with the right of parents to choose schools where their children will receive appropriate mental and religious training, the right of the child to influence the parents' choice of a school, the right of schools and teachers therein to engage in a useful business or profession." The Supreme Court unanimously agreed .
A century later, Catholics are once again fighting anti-religious bigotry, but this time in defense of a state-sponsored initiative. This past June, the Oklahoma Statewide Virtual Charter School Board approved St. Isidore’s application for charter school sponsorship. Run by the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City and the Diocese of Tulsa, the school has been hailed as a much-needed opportunity for the many children in the state who lack adequate educational choice or find traditional schooling difficult due to learning differences.
Charter schools are publicly funded but privately run. According to a recent study , charter school students “show greater academic gains than their peers in traditional public schools.” And as one commentator at the National Assessment of Educational Progress observed , “If Catholic schools were a state, they would be the highest performing state in the country.”
But because no good deed for children goes unpunished by secularists, St. Isidore is embroiled in a legal battle.
The state’s recently elected attorney general filed a lawsuit against the state’s charter school board, arguing that state laws and regulations “strictly prohibit the sponsorship of a sectarian virtual charter school.”
“Today, Oklahomans are being compelled to fund Catholicism. Because of the legal precedent created by the Board’s actions, tomorrow, we may be forced to fund radical Muslim teachings like Sharia law. ... That is a gross violation of our religious liberty,” he said in a press release announcing the suit.
Apparently, the state’s chief law enforcement officer hasn’t been paying attention to the goings-on at the Supreme Court. Just three years ago, the Supreme Court admonished Montana officials from relying on a similar “no-aid” provision in their state constitution to exclude religious schools from participation in a state-sponsored scholarship program.
“A State need not subsidize private education. But once a State decides to do so, it cannot disqualify some private schools solely because they are religious,” Chief Justice John Roberts wrote. He also rejected assertions similar to those being raised today by Oklahoma’s attorney general, explaining, “An infringement of First Amendment rights, however, cannot be justified by a State’s alternative view that the infringement advances religious liberty.”
Americans United for Separation of Church and State, the American Civil Liberties Union, the Education Law Center, and the Freedom From Religion Foundation have also sued in state court, making specious claims that St. Isidore will “discriminate in admissions, discipline, and employment based on religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, and other protected characteristics.”
Notre Dame Law School’s Religious Liberty Clinic has filed a motion to dismiss the suit on behalf of St. Isidore, highlighting a trio of recent Supreme Court decisions that make clear that the First Amendment prohibits the state of Oklahoma from categorically excluding the Catholic-run school from serving as a charter school. That motion, along with motions to dismiss by state defendants, will be heard on Dec. 21.
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If it was not already clear that secularists in Oklahoma operate by double standards, in November, Oklahoma City Public Schools approved the application of the Oklahoma Montessori Initiative to found a charter school in the city. Montessori schools, modeled after the hands-on, student-driven method of learning pioneered by Italian Catholic physician Maria Montessori, have been called “inherently Catholic.” But as this initiative isn’t run directly by the Catholic Church, don’t count on the ACLU and company to go after them.
The Constitution’s demand that the government not discriminate based on religion in its programs means that schools such as St. Isidore can be properly approved as a charter school option. Despite this, they will have to fight religious bigotry to open.
Andrea Picciotti-Bayer is the director of the Conscience Project.
Despite recent Supreme Court wins, Christian schools must still fight religious bigotry to open
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08.12.2023
The St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School in Oklahoma , slated to become the first religious charter school in the nation, faces the usual fury of secularists trying to thwart its progress. But a group of Catholic nuns in Oregon 100 years ago and this Supreme Court show why the school should prevail and provide encouragement to other states expanding educational options.
To understand the historical context, let’s recall that in the years after World War I, public education became the focus of intense anti-Catholic bias. In Oregon, for example, an initiative was passed by a slim majority of voters to amend the state’s Compulsory Education Act by eliminating an existing exception for attendees of private schools. The aim was to force Catholic parochial schools to close. Not surprisingly, the initiative had the support of the Ku Klux Klan, which “believed that the law was necessary to preserve and perpetuate a homogeneous American culture.”
HOUSE VOTES TO REPEAL BIDEN'S INCOME-DRIVEN REPAYMENT REGULATION
The Sisters of the Holy Name sued, alleging that "the enactment conflicts with the right of parents to choose schools where their children will receive appropriate mental and religious training, the right of the child to influence the parents' choice of a school, the right of schools and teachers therein to engage in a useful business or profession."........
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