In a move that upholds the barrier between church and state, Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond has actively taken steps to prevent the establishment of a state-sponsored religious public school. Drummond filed a brief with the Supreme Court insisting on the denial of certiorari for the case involving St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual Charter School, as reported by the Oklahoma Attorney General.
According to the Oklahoma Attorney General official statement, Drummond’s filing is built upon not one but four major contentions. Primarily, he argues, the proposal by SISVC egregiously contravenes two distinct provisions within the Oklahoma Constitution. These are legal grounds separate from the federal concerns—one could say he is trying to clearly bifurcate state law from federal First Amendment issues.
Moreover, Drummond's brief counters any potential rift in circuit court decisions by highlighting the unanimity of circuit decisions on comparable matters. "The Oklahoma Supreme Court’s analysis aligns with every circuit’s decision on whether charter schools are treated as state actors," the brief explains, pointing out that any outcome discrepancies stem from details like differing facts or state histories, rather than a disparity in legal interpretation, as mentioned by the Oklahoma Attorney General.
A key point in the brief notes that St. Isidore’s case would make a "poor vehicle" for the high court due to its uniqueness—this is the first occurrence where a state has attempted to officially endorse a religious public charter school. The Attorney General conveyed "The Court would benefit from permitting this issue to percolate through the lower courts," also remarking on the specific nature of Oklahoma's laws governing charter schools. Such specificity would make a Supreme Court decision here unlikely to provide broad precedent or guidance for other states—an essential consideration that seems to beg the court to carefully weigh its involvement.
Fleshing out his argument, Drummond observes that the contract binding St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual Charter School requires state sanction for any significant changes to Catholic doctrine in the curriculum, as mandated by the Pope. He described this as a "clear-cut First Amendment violation," as per the Oklahoma Attorney General. Drummond's stance upholds the principle that religious instruction and state apparatus must not intertwine, a cornerstone of secular democracy enshrined in the Constitution.
.jpg){kind=link}