Monday, March 31st 2025, 6:27 pm
Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt issued an executive order Monday, making Oklahoma "the nation's strongest defender of religious liberty," according to a news release from Stitt's office.
The executive order comes just one month ahead of the United States Supreme Court hearing oral arguments over what could be Oklahoma's first publicly-funded religious charter school.
Last June, Oklahoma’s top court held by a 7-1 vote that a taxpayer-funded religious charter school would violate the part of the First Amendment that prohibits the government from making any law “respecting an establishment of religion.”
READ MORE: Supreme Court sets date to hear case on St. Isidore; First publicly-funded religious charter school
The decision followed a 3-2 vote in 2023 by the Statewide Virtual Charter School Board to approve an application by the archdiocese for the St. Isidore of Seville Virtual Charter School. The K-12 online school had planned to start classes for its first 200 enrollees last fall, with part of its mission to evangelize its students in the Catholic faith.
A group of Oklahoma parents, faith leaders, and a public education nonprofit sued to block the school.
Governor Stitt and dozens of others filed briefs in the Supreme Court case over St. Isidore in March, supporting the Oklahoma State Charter School Board.
Oklahoma religious charter school receives support from Gov. Stitt, dozens more
Stitt argued, "Faith-based institutions have the same right to public programs as any other entity."
Also on Monday, Oklahoma attorney General and 2026 Gubernatorial candidate, Gentner Drummond filed a brief in the Supreme Court case. Drummond said in the brief that a state-sponsored and taxpayer-funded religious public school violates the United States Constitution.
LATEST: Oklahoma's proposed state-funded Catholic school violates U.S. Constitution, says A.G. Drummond
Drummond responded Monday to Stitt's order with the following statement:
"Gov. Stitt has been clear that he supports our tax dollars funding radical Muslim schools teaching Sharia Law, and I couldn’t disagree with him more. If a taxpayer-funded religious charter school is allowed to open in Oklahoma, it will only be a matter of time before taxpayers are funding schools dedicated to Sharia law, Wicca indoctrination, Scientology instruction — even the Church of Satan. As a devoted Christian and a strong supporter of religious liberty, I can tell you that the only way to protect religious liberty is for the state not to sponsor any religion at all — just like our Founding Fathers intended.”
Read the full executive order below:
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September 21st, 2023