Oklahoma Religious Charter School: OU Law professor discusses SCOTUS 4-4 vote

The U.S. Supreme Court voted in a 4-4 deadlock Thursday on a decision for the first publicly-funded religious charter school to open in Oklahoma, St. Isidore.

>>> Oklahoma religious charter school: U.S. Supreme Court deadlocks, rejecting state-funded schools

The tie means that SCOTUS upholds the Oklahoma Supreme Court's ruling on the school, which called it unconstitutional.

The case caused a divide between state leaders, even in the Republican Party.

>>> Oklahoma religious charter school: Gov. Stitt, State Supt. Ryan Walters release statements on St. Isidore case.

To further explain what the ruling means for Oklahoma and the country, Professor Joseph Thai joined News On 6's Reagan Ledbetter on the Digital Desk to break down the vote. Professor Thai teaches and writes about constitutional law, the First Amendment, and the Supreme Court at the University of Oklahoma College of Law. 

Watch the full interview in the player above, or read the transcription below:

Reagan: Obviously, the big decision today, the Supreme Court deadlocked 4 to 4 in the Saint Isidore case. That's the school trying to become the first-ever state religious charter school. First, I want to ask you, what does this decision exactly mean?

Prof. Thai:

"It means it's game over. There's no higher power that, the archdiocese, the city or the Diocese of Tulsa can appeal to at least here on this Earth. And so the Oklahoma Supreme Court decision stands, which means that there is not going to be a Catholic charter school here in Oklahoma.

Reagan: How rare is a decision like this? A 4 to 4 deadlock tie?

Prof Thai:

"It's fairly rare, but, you know, I think blue moons are probably rarer. And it just was the happenstance that Justice Barrett, probably was too close to the Catholic charter School. And so therefore had to recuse herself. We actually don't know because the justices can self-report or choose not to self-report why they recuse, so there was a 4 to 4 split, if you want to get into the "inside baseball", I can speculate on what happened internally with the eight justices left.

Reagan: Now, speaking of Amy Coney Barrett, I want to ask you about that for a second. You know, why do you think she did that? You kind of touched on a little bit. And how common is it for a justice to recuse themselves in a case?

Prof Thai:

"Well, it's a matter of great controversy lately because the Supreme Court has no ethical code except for the ones that it just chose to voluntarily impose on itself. And that leaves in place essentially the status quo of each justice deciding for himself or herself whether they should recuse. And there is, you know, no one to look over their shoulders, so it's an individual voluntary decision. Justices Alito and Thomas have gone to hot water in recent years for not recusing, when their spouses or their, you know, other friends and former clerks or affiliates have been involved in cases. But we see here that, Justice Barrett decided to recuse herself.

Reagan: Now, you mentioned game over. Governor Kevin Stitt said today, it's now over time. I want to ask you, you mentioned the archbishop, the bishop of Tulsa and Oklahoma City. What options do they have going forward?

Prof Thai:

"Not legal options, at least not in the courts. Perhaps political options. You know, but they would have to change the Oklahoma Constitution, or the Oklahoma Supreme Court, itself, so that it would reinterpret the Constitution. But the upcoming Supreme Court decision, interpreted the Oklahoma state constitution to bar a religious charter school. And so, you know, there is no overtime without changing either the constitution of the state or the Supreme Court of the state that interprets it.

Reagan: This tie vote is unique because the court didn't issue a detailed written decision like we would normally see. It was just one page. And in a few words, why is that?

Prof Thai:

"Well, it's because when the court is split 4 to 4, there is no law that is made. And so, you know, any explanation would be gratuitous. Of course, any justice could, if they wanted to write their own separate opinion and have that published. I mean, there is no, editing on the Supreme Court except for self-editing. So every justice can publish what they want to say, but I think they're holding their fire for the next round, when there might be another case involving another school in another state, but for Oklahoma, it's over.

Reagan: Does this pave the way for another school, maybe in another state, to bring a similar case to the Supreme Court?

Prof Thai:

"Yes. It could, although, you know, the circumstances of each state would be different because it would depend on their state law. And whether their state law would permit a charter school, here the Oklahoma Supreme Court said Oklahoma state law, specifically the Constitution, as well as the charter school law does not allow that. So I don't think that other states would have a similar, legal background, or a similar state supreme Court that may issue a similar decision. And so, you know, those tickets and those other states would be good for their rights, but not necessarily, you know, for the, potential charter schools here in Oklahoma to take a ride as well in future.

Reagan: Kind of going off that, you know, can you kind of put in perspective what a decision like this, what kind of splash it would make or impact it would have on the whole United States? Obviously, this was focused on Oklahoma and trying to fund this religious charter school. But what kind of impacts could a decision like this have moving forward?

Prof Thai:

"Minimal this way. Right. Because it just leaves a state in place, a state court decision interpreting state law, saying that a charter school, a religious teacher at its core is not allowed in the state. Had the Supreme Court gone the other way and said that the federal Constitution trumps, Oklahoma state law and requires, you know, charter schools that teach religion to be allowed, regardless of state law. Well, then that would have an effect on every other state in the country, including Oklahoma. And so the case could have had a profound impact on rewriting the law between church and state across the country. But as it stands, it only leaves in place the Oklahoma Supreme Court's decision that only affects our state. There's a lot of inside baseball. I don't know if you want to speculate or that gets too much into the weeds of what happened in this case. But it is interesting for court watchers

Reagan: You look at this something like this, there's so much inside baseball. And it's just so hard that for people to dig into all of it and try to get a full understanding of it all, all that it could be.

Prof Thai:

"Well, you know, it just goes to show that the court is made up of people and that decisions very much depend on who are the people on the court. For example, the internal rules of the court say that it only takes four votes to grant a case. Right? So, presumably at least four justices, disagreed with the Oklahoma Supreme Court decision and wanted to review it. But it takes five votes to win at the Supreme Court. Or, you know, if there's only eight justices. Yeah, it's still five votes for a majority of the justices. And so, four votes to grant and review of the case, but not that extra vote to win the case at the Supreme Court. And what that tells you is that probably it was Justice Roberts, Chief Justice Roberts, who blinked and decided not to vote in favor of the Catholic charter school in this case, Roberts has actually a long history of siding with, you know, religious, proponents, of school vouchers, for example. He's decided and written three cases that basically said when states offered vouchers for parents to make decisions where to send their kids, you know, states can't limit the use of vouchers only to, non sectarian schools. States have to open up that program to religious schools as well. But this is one step further, because it's not a voucher program that allows parents the private choice where send their kids to private schools. This is in effect going one step further and, you know, asking the Supreme Court to rule as a matter of federal constitutional law that, forl states that have charter school systems, religious schools can participate and become state schools, even and even while they're retaining their religious identity.

Reagan: Thanks for helping us understand, helping our viewers understand more about today's decision.

Prof Thai:

"It's been a pleasure to talk, and best wishes to you.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE:

The Story So Far: How a Catholic charter school in Oklahoma landed before the U.S. Supreme Court

4/30/2025: Supreme Court hears potential landmark religious charter school case: What it could mean for Oklahoma

4/29/2025: AG Drummond stands firm against taxpayer-funded religious school ahead of Supreme Court case

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

1/24/2025: Supreme Court to review case for US’s first publicly funded religious charter school in Oklahoma

8/12/2024: St. Isidore Charter School's Contract With The State Canceled

6/28/2024: Oklahoma Supreme Court Blocks Opening of Religious Charter School, St. Isidore Delays Launch

6/25/2024: 'Unconstitutional:' Oklahoma Supreme Court's Ruling On St. Isidore

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10/20/23: Oklahoma Attorney General Says Approval Of Religious Charter School Goes Against State Constitution

10/17/2023: Oklahoma Officials Clash over Publicly Funded Religious Charter School

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4/11/2023: Oklahoma School Board Votes Against Publicly Funded Religious Charter School