(The Washington Stand) – The Sooner
State’s governor is blasting his state’s attorney general for suing a Catholic
charter school. Oklahoma’s Republican Attorney General Gentner Drummond announced
a lawsuit earlier this month against the Oklahoma Statewide Virtual
Charter School Board for approving what his office called “what would be the
nation’s first religious charter school funded by public tax dollars,” citing
religious liberty concerns.
Back in
June, the Board greenlit St. Isidore of Seville Virtual Charter School, which
is sponsored by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Oklahoma City and the Diocese
of Tulsa. Drummond’s office referred to the school’s Catholic affiliation as
“religious indoctrination,” arguing that by approving St. Isidore of Seville,
the Board “violated the religious liberty of every Oklahoman by forcing us to
fund the teachings of a specific religious sect with our tax dollars. …
Oklahomans are being compelled to fund Catholicism.” He added, “Because of the
legal precedent created by the Board’s actions, tomorrow we may be forced to
fund radical Muslim teachings like Sharia law.”
But Governor
Kevin Stitt (R) is criticizing Drummond’s
lawsuit. In an interview with The Daily Signal, Stitt said, “Nobody is forcing
kids to go to any religious charter school. A charter school is just another
option. And if a parent chooses that that’s the best option for their kids, why
is the government standing in their way?” He added, “We believe in religious
freedom. We believe in school choice. We believe empowering parents to let them
choose where they think the best education is for their kids. So, it’s that
simple.” The governor called Drummond’s lawsuit a “political stunt,”
commenting, “He should be defending the board, but instead, he’s actively
trying to join in with these left-wing groups out of California and challenging
religious freedoms.”
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Previously,
Stitt commended the Virtual Charter School Board for approving the Catholic
school, saying back
in June, “This is a win for religious liberty and education freedom in our
great state, and I am encouraged by these efforts to give parents more options
when it comes to their child’s education. Oklahomans support religious liberty
for all and support an increasingly innovative educational system that expands
choice.”
Brett
Farley, executive director of the Catholic Conference of Oklahoma, told The
Washington Stand, “We’re very thankful for Gov. Stitt’s leadership on this
effort and generally for his diligence in defending religious liberty and
expanding education choice in Oklahoma. Without his leadership, much of what
we’ve accomplished — and what we hope to accomplish with St. Isidore — wouldn’t
be possible.”
St. Isidore
of Seville Virtual Charter School states on its website,
“The Catholic Church in Oklahoma believes that parents are the primary
educators of their children. The primary goal of St. Isidore of Seville
Catholic Virtual School is to assist parents in the important responsibility of
developing the heart, mind, and soul of their child.” The website adds, “Our
statewide virtual charter school will enable students to be immersed in a
robust liberal arts program that opens the student to the best of the Catholic
intellectual tradition. … Our virtue-based program will help each student
realize their individual gifts and talents while developing strong moral
character and integrity.” The school’s contract also clarifies that no student
will be denied admission on the basis of religious affiliation or lack of
religious affiliation.
Farley
expounded, “Our plan for St. Isidore, should the courts approve, is to open in
the Fall of 2024 initially with 500 students. Our aim is to create new
education options for kids specifically in our rural and special education
communities who are under-served.” He added, “The overwhelming support of
education choice programs in Oklahoma in recent years continues to demonstrate
that parents demand more options for their kids, and the Catholic Church has a
mandate to help provide them.”
While the
U.S. Supreme Court has ruled (in both Espinoza v.
Montana Department of Revenue and Carson v.
Makin) that taxpayer dollars can be used to fund or subsidize
religiously-affiliated schools, Drummond’s lawsuit argues that Oklahoma’s state
constitution prohibits the use of taxpayer funds for religiously-affiliated
schools.
In a
statement sent to The Washington Stand, the Catholic Conference of Oklahoma
declared: “Attorney General Drummond’s lawsuit employs the language of fear and
discrimination, twists the law of religious liberty beyond recognition, and
ignores the very real successes of faith-based schools in our country. Sadly,
he also attempts to pit people of different faiths against each other.
Religious freedom for all is a cornerstone of our society.”
The
statement concluded, “We are optimistic that the court will see this lawsuit
for what it is: a baseless attempt to enforce exactly the kind of religious
discrimination that the Supreme Court has made clear the First Amendment
forbids.”
Meg
Kilgannon, senior fellow for Education Studies at Family Research Council,
commented to The Washington Stand, “The idea that Oklahomans are being forced
to fund Catholicism by approving an online Catholic Charter school as an option
for parents to select for their children is just absurd. … The only ‘religious
sect’ that’s being publicly funded is the religion of atheism which catechizes
via critical race theory and queer theory indoctrination in public schools
across the country. Parents who complain about that are called domestic
terrorists by educrats and DOJ officials. Governor Stitt has been a staunch
defender of parental rights and common sense. It seems like the Oklahoma AG is
out of touch with the grassroots and out of step with the governor.”
She added,
“Oklahoma has a generous school choice program and I’m sure many parents are
spending that money in Catholic schools. Does the AG have a problem with that?
Would he object to a STEM charter school offering? What about a school like
the one in Alabama that specializes in LGBTQ?”
Jonathan
Small, president of the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs, noted,
“Families must proactively choose to send a child to a religious charter school
rather than to the local non-religious public school. The U.S. Supreme Court
and the Oklahoma Supreme Court have both ruled that parent choice severs any
coercive tie between state and religion.” He added, “St. Isidore will provide
Oklahoma parents with even greater choice and power in education. This should
be celebrated.”
Alliance
Defending Freedom (ADF) announced on
Friday it will be defending the Statewide Virtual Charter School Board against
Drummond’s lawsuit. ADF stated on its website, “People of faith should not be
treated as second-class citizens. Just as non-religious parents can choose to
send their children to non-religious charter schools, religious parents should
be able to send their children to charter schools that align with their
beliefs.”
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