A progressive secular watchdog group is declaring victory in its litigation against Oklahoma over the state’s attempt to establish the nation’s first religious charter school.
Americans United for Separation of Church and State and other progressive groups had sued Oklahoma officials when they greenlit plans to launch a virtual Catholic charter school, known as St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School.
In an announcement released on Monday, Americans United said it was ending its lawsuit, citing a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision that upheld an earlier ruling against it.
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“Americans United is proud to work closely with Oklahomans to protect inclusive public education and religious freedom,” said Rachel Laser, president and CEO of Americans United, as quoted in the announcement.
“While we celebrate victory in this case, AU continues to litigate two other church-state separation lawsuits in Oklahoma to stop Ryan Walters and his Christian Nationalist allies from imposing their religious beliefs on public school children.”
Americans United had joined the ACLU, the Freedom From Religion Foundation, the Education Law Center, and the Oklahoma-based Odom & Sparks PLLC and J. Douglas Mann to represent the Oklahoma Parent Legislative Advocacy Coalition in their suit against the Catholic charter school.
Their notice of voluntary dismissal in the case was filed on Monday in the District Court of Oklahoma County, state of Oklahoma, and certified by County Clerk Rick Warren.
In June 2023, the Oklahoma Statewide Virtual Charter School Board voted 3-2 to approve the creation of St. Isidore, which was to be jointly overseen by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Oklahoma City and the Catholic Diocese of Tulsa.
However, liberal groups and Republican Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond objected to the taxpayer-funded religious charter school, with Drummond filing a complaint against the board in October 2023, and the liberal groups also filed a lawsuit.
The Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled 7-1 last year against the religious charter school, with the majority concluding that the greenlighting of the religious entity violated the state’s constitution.
Although the charter school board rescinded the contract for St. Isidore per an order from the Oklahoma Supreme Court, they also filed an appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court.
In April, the U.S. Supreme Court heard the combined cases of Oklahoma Charter School Board, et al. v. Drummond, Attorney General of Oklahoma and St. Isidore of Seville School v. Drummond, Attorney General of Oklahoma.
Justice Amy Coney Barrett had recused herself from the case, reportedly due to her personal ties to Nicole Stelle Garnett, a professor who had served as an early adviser to St. Isidore.
In a brief per curiam opinion released in May, the highest court in the land ruled 4-4 to affirm the earlier Oklahoma Supreme Court ruling against the establishment of St. Isidore.
