Supreme Court to hear fight over bid to launch first publicly funded religious school
The Supreme Court agreed to hear a bid by Oklahoma officials to approve the nation's first publicly-funded religious charter school.
WASHINGTON — In a sign that the barrier between church and state could be further weakened, the Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear a bid by Oklahoma officials to approve the nation’s first publicly funded religious charter school.
The court, which has a 6-3 conservative majority that consistently backs religious claims, will hear a dispute over the proposed St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School, which would serve students online throughout the state while maintaining its remit to promote the Catholic faith.
The justices will review an Oklahoma Supreme Court ruling that said the proposal violated both the state and federal constitutions.
The brief court order noted that conservative Justice Amy Coney Barrett, who would normally be a potential key vote in such a case, will not participate. The court did not say why.
Barrett was previously a professor at Notre Dame Law School. and still has ties there. Its religious liberty law clinic is representing the school.
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