Supreme Court deadlocks 4-4, preserving ban on nation’s first religious charter school

Oklahoma will not be able to launch the nation's first ever religious public charter school after the justices deadlocked in a case on the separation of church and state.

WASHINGTON — Oklahoma will not be able to launch the nation's first religious public charter school after the Supreme Court deadlocked 4-4 Thursday in a major case on the separation of church and state.

The decision by the evenly divided court means a ruling by the Oklahoma Supreme Court that said the proposal to launch St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School violates both the federal Constitution and state law remains in place. St. Isidore would have operated online statewide with a remit to promote the Catholic faith.

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Paul Coakley, the archbishop of Oklahoma City, and David Konderla, the bishop of Tulsa, said in a joint statement that they are "exploring other options" to provide an online education statewide.

"Families across the state of Oklahoma deserve the educational opportunities presented by St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School," they added.