One-of-a-kind Catholic charter school faces legal challenge in Oklahoma

A long-expected lawsuit has arrived to fight the creation of the country’s first religious charter school.

The case, filed Monday in Oklahoma County District Court, kicks off likely years of litigation to examine the possibility of publicly funded religious schools, starting with St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School.

The Oklahoma Parent Legislative Action Committee, a non-partisan public school advocacy group, joins nine other parents, faith leaders and public education advocates in filing the lawsuit. They contend a Catholic charter school would contradict state law and asked a district judge to block St. Isidore of Seville from opening and receiving state funds.

“You can’t use people’s tax dollars to promote or establish religion,” one of the plaintiffs, the Rev. Lori Walke, told The Oklahoman. “That’s what is being attempted right now.”

More: Public or private? Charter law question at the center of Oklahoma Catholic school debate

Catholic officials contend charter schools are private schools, despite their reliance on taxpayer dollars, and a faith-based institution shouldn't be excluded from the state's charter-school funding. Critics argue the concept of a government-funded religious school violates the separation of church and state and could result in discrimination against certain groups.

The plaintiffs are represented by local attorneys and national groups — the American Civil Liberties Union, the Freedom from Religion Foundation and Americans United for Separation of Church and State (AU).

What to know about St. Isidore of Seville and the case

The Archdiocese of Oklahoma City and the Diocese of Tulsa plan to open the school in 2024 to provide a Catholic education online to students in all parts of the state.

"News of a suit from AU comes as no surprise since they have indicated early in this process their intentions to litigate," said Brett Farley, a lobbyist representing the diocese and archdiocese. "We remain confident that the Oklahoma court will ultimately agree with the U.S. Supreme Court's opinion in favor of religious liberty."

The nation's high court recently ruled private schools could receive public funds from school voucher programs and government grants. Attorney General Gentner Drummond, disagreeing with his predecessor John O'Connor, argued these cases have "little precedential value" to charter school law and no legal history exists to prove charter schools are private.

St. Isidore of Seville, named for the patron saint of the internet, would be a “genuine instrument” of the Catholic Church and would take part in the church’s evangelizing mission, according to the school’s own description. The Catholic Pastoral Center in Oklahoma City would serve as its headquarters, and Archbishop Paul S. Coakley and Bishop David A. Konderla would choose the members of St. Isidore’s governing board.

The Oklahoma Statewide Virtual Charter School Board drew national attention when it voted 3-2 in June to approve the school’s creation.

The board's chairperson, Robert Franklin, said a lawsuit over the vote, though expected, is troubling news.

"Although it’s not a surprise, it’s unsettling because I think it puts Oklahoma taxpayers and the process under the microscope," said Franklin, who was one of the two board members to vote against opening St. Isidore.

Who is the SVCSB? National spotlight falls on Oklahoma board that approved country's first publicly funded religious school.

Questions remain on non-discrimination regulations at the school

The board agreed to exempt the school from state and federal laws that contradict Catholic beliefs, raising questions of whether the school would abide by all the non-discrimination regulations other publicly funded schools have to follow.

St. Isidore will operate according to church beliefs on sexual orientation, gender identity and sexual morality, according to the archdiocese's application to the Statewide Virtual Charter School Board.

One of the plaintiffs, Oklahoma County mother Michelle Medley, fears the school would refuse to serve her child who identifies as LGBTQ+, according to the lawsuit. Two of Medley's three children have autism, and given the family's history with private schools, she believes St. Isidore would be "woefully unprepared" to serve students with disabilities.

"Allowing St. Isidore to operate as a state-funded, public charter school would subject other Oklahoma children — at taxpayer expense — to the private-school experiences that failed her family," the lawsuit contends.

Catholic officials have said students of all backgrounds would be welcome at St. Isidore, and the archdiocese is prepared to educate children with special learning needs, given its experience operating more than 20 Catholic schools statewide.

Dedicating any of Oklahoma’s finite education funds to a religious school would leave fewer dollars for secular public schools who accept all students, said Walke, senior minister of Mayflower Congregational United Church of Christ in Oklahoma City.

The archdiocese estimates the school will cost more than $26 million in its first five years of operation.

“My concern is any money, any funds that are taken out of our public schools means that it limits opportunities for our community when you can say, ‘No, I won’t take you based on how you look or the way you act (or) your belief system,’” Walke said.

Charter school board, Ryan Walters named as defendants

The Statewide Virtual Charter School Board and the not-for-profit corporation seeking to oversee St. Isidore are all listed as defendants in the case, as is state schools Superintendent Ryan Walters, an ardent supporter of the school, and the Oklahoma State Department of Education.

Walters called the lawsuit "religious persecution."

"It is time to end atheism as the state sponsored religion," the state superintendent said.

More: Oklahoma attorney general withdraws opinion supporting religious charter schools

Establishing a Catholic charter school reflects a nationwide push to introduce the Christian faith into public education, said Rachel Laser, AU’s president and CEO.

“St. Isidore is a perfect illustration of how when we undermine church-state separation we invite discrimination and we create a class of insiders and of outsiders, which is exactly what Christian nationalists want,” Laser said.

A conservative Christian law firm, Alliance Defending Freedom, will represent the Statewide Virtual Charter School Board in the case. The board voted 3-1 last week to hire the firm after the attorney general withdrew his office’s legal services on all St. Isidore-related matters.

Drummond said the school’s approval was contrary to Oklahoma law and not in the best interest of taxpayers.

“It’s extremely disappointing that board members violated their oath in order to fund religious schools with our tax dollars,” Drummond said in a statement. “In doing so, these members have exposed themselves and the State to potential legal action that could be costly.”

Reporter Nuria Martinez-Keel covers K-12 and higher education throughout the state of Oklahoma. Have a story idea for Nuria? She can be reached at nmartinez-keel@oklahoman.com or on Twitter at @NuriaMKeel. Support Nuria’s work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: St. Isidore, first religious charter school in US, facing lawsuit