Supreme Court to Hear Oklahoma Religious Charter School Case

The Supreme Court agreed on Friday to consider a high-profile case that could open the door to allowing public dollars to directly fund religious schools.The widely watched case out of Oklahoma could move the line between church and state in education, and it will come before a court whose conservative majority has broadly embraced the role of religion in public life.The case centers on a proposal for the nation’s first religious charter school, St.Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School.

The school would be online, and its curriculum would embed religious teachings throughout lessons, including in math and reading classes.As a charter school, it would be run independently from traditional public schools.But public taxpayer dollars would pay for the school, and it would be free for students to attend.The question of whether the government can fully finance a religious school has proved especially divisive within the school choice movement and across Oklahoma.

Some conservative Christian leaders, including Gov.Kevin Stitt and Ryan Walters, the firebrand state superintendent who has sought to require teaching from the Bible in public schools, have backed St.

Isidore’s creation.They urged the Supreme Court to take up the case, believing the conservative-leaning court would decide in the school’s favor.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe....