First Amendment
Chief justice appears to be ‘pivotal vote’ in challenge to state-funded religious school in Oklahoma
Does the First Amendment allow or require Oklahoma to fund a Catholic charter school? Chief Justice John Roberts emerged as “a pivotal vote” on that question during oral arguments Wednesday. (Image from Shutterstock)
Does the First Amendment allow or require Oklahoma to fund a Catholic charter school? Chief Justice John Roberts emerged as “a pivotal vote” on that question during oral arguments Wednesday, Bloomberg Law reports.
Two First Amendment questions are at issue in the case. The first is whether funding the school violates the establishment clause. The second is whether excluding the school from the charter program violates the free exercise clause.
During the arguments, four conservative U.S. Supreme Court justices appeared to support state funding for the school. A fifth conservative justice, Justice Amy Coney Barrett, has recused herself from the case.
Roberts’ “relative silence” during arguments makes a 4-4 tie possible, according to USA Today. The New York Times indicates that Roberts “asked questions supportive of both sides.”
Justice Brett Kavanaugh “was the most blunt” of the conservative justices in supporting funding, according to Bloomberg Law.
“You can’t treat religious people and religious institutions and religious speech as second class in the United States,” Kavanaugh said. “And when you have a program that’s open to all comers except religion, … that seems like rank discrimination against religion.”
If Roberts sides with the court’s three liberal justices, the 4-4 split would let stand an Oklahoma Supreme Court decision finding that state funding of a Catholic charter school is unconstitutional.
A ruling for state funding, on the other hand, would be “a blockbuster move that could reshape American education and redraw the boundary between church and state,” according to the Washington Post.
“A ruling for St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School would for the first time allow direct and complete taxpayer funding to establish a faith-based school, sanctioning government sponsorship of a curriculum that calls for students to adhere to Catholic beliefs and the church’s religious mission,” the Washington Post reports.
Oklahoma’s charter school board had approved funding the Catholic school, but Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond challenged the decision in a lawsuit.
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