A divided ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court has ended the chances for a taxpayer-funded Catholic charter school in Oklahoma.
With Justice Amy Coney-Barrett recusing herself from the case, the court case resulted in a rare tie with a 4-4 split decision.
Because there was no majority ruling, the decision allows a lower court’s ruling to stand. That ruling had blocked St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School from receiving public funds.
A state charter school board had approved the funding, but opponents argued in court that it would be wrong for taxpayer funding to be used for a religious school. Supporters of the school have argued that blocking religious charter schools from receiving state funds is discriminatory.
A key unresolved issue is whether the school should be considered public or private. Charter schools are deemed to be public schools in Oklahoma and the other 45 states and the District of Columbia where they operate. But they are run by independent boards that are not part of local public school systems.
Before the case was argued at the high court, Kate Anderson with Alliance Defending Freedom said, “We’re seeing a crisis in our education system, and parents standing up across the country asking for more options. And this is a beautiful option for parents to have more options in the state of Oklahoma.”
The issue could come back to the Supreme Court in the future.
