Oklahoma's St. Isidore Catholic Charter case could set national precedent for faith-based public education

The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments Tuesday in a major case testing whether taxpayer-funded religious charter schools are constitutional.

The case, St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School v. Drummond, follows a 2023 decision by the Oklahoma Charter School Board to approve the religious school and a 2024 ruling by the Oklahoma Supreme Court that it violated state law. News On 6 Washington Bureau Chief Alex Cameron will be at the high court and joined anchor Dave Davis to preview what’s at stake:

Case History: From Approval to the U.S. Supreme Court

Dave Davis: Good morning, Alex. Dave, how are you?

Alex Cameron: Well, I’m doing well. You know, this case it’s been moving through the courts since the Oklahoma Charter School Board approved St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Charter in 2023. And then, in 2024, last year, it was ruled unconstitutional.

Davis: So, tell us about kind of the journey that it’s been on and where we’re going with this case.

Cameron: Well, I mean, this is sort of the final stop. You know, that gets to the... the St. Isidore folks and the charter school board both petitioned the Supreme Court to take up this case. The attorney general argued that it should not be taken up. But the high court did agree to review it, and oral arguments are set for tomorrow. So, you know, they were originally two different petitions filed, but they’ve been combined into one case, Saint Isidore v. Drummond, and that goes before the Supreme Court tomorrow.

And so I expect all the major players are going to be there. I actually spoke with General Drummond just a short time ago about the case.

National Implications for Religious Charter Schools

Cameron: But really, you know, what hangs in the balance, I guess, is the future of religious charter schools in the United States, not just Oklahoma, because 45 states and the District of Columbia have charter school laws very similar to Oklahoma’s.

So if the Supreme Court were to rule in favor of Saint Isidore and allow state funding to be used to support a religious charter school, a religious public school, then it would open the door to the same sort of thing in states across the country and would begin to blur this line between state endorsement of religion.

And that’s really what this comes down to is this argument: Is St. Isidore a private institution or is it public? And so that’s what we’ll be listening for the justices and their questioning tomorrow to see where they come down. Because Oklahoma law is very clear that public dollars can’t be used, taxpayer dollars can’t be used, to support any religious sect.

And so if indeed this is a public school, then that would violate Oklahoma law for tax dollars to be used to support it, to, in a sense, endorse this particular religion over others.

Attorney General Drummond’s Outlook on the Case

Davis: What is the sense that Attorney General Drummond, what are you getting from him in terms of how he’s feeling? Obviously, his name is on the case.

Cameron: I think he feels relatively confident that the court will side with him on this. But, you know, we’ll see. There are...certainly this court has made some decisions in the last recent years that have shown that it supports, you know, religion and religion in the public sector.

The question is, though... You know, in this case, would this be showing state support, government support for a particular religion, and violate the Establishment Clause? Because that’s what the founders were so clear about not wanting to do was to force a specific religion on people.

And so that’s the concern here. And General Drummond seems to be very confident that the court will be on his side with this.

What to Expect from Tuesday’s Arguments

Davis: In terms of arguments versus a ruling, what’s going to happen tomorrow? And then, when can we expect a potential ruling?

Cameron: So the oral arguments are scheduled for an hour, as they usually are. And by the way, people can listen to those. That’s one of the benefits, I guess, of COVID is that those are now available. You can listen to them online. Again, they’re scheduled for an hour beginning at 10 a.m. Eastern Time, so 9 Central.

It should go an hour, but more than likely, this is going to go a little bit longer than an hour. And then we’ll have to wait a few months because the actual decision won’t come in till probably June or July, so before the court goes into recess.

So tomorrow, just the arguments. But a lot of times, Dave, you can get a very clear sense of where the ruling is, where the justices are leaning, how it could end up, based on the sorts of questions they ask. So we may have a sense by the end of the day tomorrow where this is headed. But, you know, we won’t have a ruling for at least a couple of months.

The Story So Far: Oklahoma’s State-Funded Religious Charter School St. Isidore

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

4/3/2025: U.S. Supreme Court to weigh in on Oklahoma religious charter school

3/31/2025: Oklahoma's proposed state-funded Catholic school violates U.S. Constitution, says A.G. Drummond

3/31/2025: What's in Governor Stitt's executive order defending religious liberty in Oklahoma

3/31/2025: Oklahoma religious charter school receives support from Gov. Stitt, dozens more

2/24/2025: US Supreme Court sets date to hear case on St. Isidore; First publicly-funded religious charter school