U.S. Supreme Court to weigh-in on Oklahoma religious charter school

The U.S. Supreme Court will soon decide if Oklahoma will be allowed to open a religious charter school that will be funded with taxpayer dollars.

RELATED: Supreme Court sets date to hear case on St. Isidore; First publicly-funded religious charter school

St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School would be the first in the nation to operate and be state-funded as a school with religious material embedded in its curriculum.

New Story: 4/7/2025: Oklahoma faith leaders, parents Urge U.S. Supreme Court to block religious charter school

The Supreme Court agreed earlier this year to take on the case and have the final say on St. Isidore's existence. The charter school was approved at a state level in 2023, then canceled its contract in 2024 after the Oklahoma Supreme Court ruling.

RELATED: St. Isidore Charter School Contract With The State Canceled

In a press briefing Wednesday, Gov. Kevin Stitt equated the school's existence under state dollars with food stamps or Medicaid.

"Anyone that accepts Medicaid, that's public dollars going to a private catholic hospital," he said. "There's no difference."

State officials on both sides of the aisle have been supporting and rejecting the existence of St. Isidore on grounds of constitutionality, such as voices from Minority Leader Rep. Cyndi Munson (D-Oklahoma City), who brought up State Question 790 passed in 2016.

SQ 790 prohibits the government from using public money for the direct or indirect benefit of any religious institutions.

"It's a frustrating comparison," Munson said. "I don't think it's fair, and he's not listening to Oklahomans when it comes to keeping our public tax dollars going to public schools."

When asked for comment, the Republican State Senate Leader said he was for school choice but wants to leave the decision up to the courts.

The case will be heard before the U.S. Supreme Court on April 30, and Justice opinions are handed down by the end of June.