Catholic charter school won't receive state funding after Supreme Court splits on free exercise issue
A decision by the Oklahoma Supreme Court striking down state funding for an online Catholic charter school remains intact after the U.S. Supreme Court split 4-4 on First Amendment issues in the case.
The Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled in June 2024 that state funding for the school violates the First Amendment’s establishment clause, the Oklahoma Constitution and a state law governing charter schools.
The Supreme Court was asked to decide whether excluding the school from the charter program violates the free exercise clause.
The high court split 4-4 because of a recusal by Justice Amy Coney Barrett. The Supreme Court did not reveal how justices voted, but coverage of oral arguments indicated that Chief Justice John Roberts may have been “a pivotal vote.”
Four other conservative justices on the Supreme Court appeared to support state funding for the school during oral arguments.
Writing at SCOTUSblog’s announcement of opinions, reporter and co-founder Amy Howe pointed out that the case does not constitute nationwide precedent because of the tie vote.
“Kicking the can down the road,” another SCOTUSblog commenter said.
It’s unclear why Barrett, a former professor at the Notre Dame Law School, recused herself. But Notre Dame’s Lindsay and Matt Moroun Religious Liberty Clinic was involved in the case.
The Supreme Court last split 4-4 in 2022 “in a far more technical case dealing with when locomotives must be inspected under federal law,” CNN reports.
The consolidated charter school cases before the Supreme Court were Oklahoma Statewide Charter School Board v. Drummond and St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School v. Drummond.
See also:
Supreme Court will decide whether Oklahoma can fund Catholic charter school
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