Oklahoma authorities approved the first faith-based charter school in the country, as supporters of the decision believe it will hold up in the face of expected legal challenges.
The Oklahoma State School Board on Monday voted 3-2 to approve an application by the Catholic Archdiocese of Oklahoma City to establish the St. Isidore of Seville Virtual Catholic Charter School as an online public charter school.
Brett Farley, the executive director of the Catholic Conference of Oklahoma, spoke with “Fox & Friends First” Wednesday about the move.
“What we’re trying to achieve here is to deliver more options to kids, largely in the rural areas of our state, that are stuck with one option. And most often those options are just inadequate,” Farley told “Fox & Friends First” co-host Carley Shimkus.
“The approval of any publicly funded religious school is contrary to Oklahoma law and not in the best interest of taxpayers,” Drummond said. “It’s extremely disappointing that board members violated their oath in order to fund religious schools with our tax dollars. In doing so, these members have exposed themselves and the State to potential legal action that could be costly.”
Farley pushed back saying that Drummond is “at odds with Supreme Court precedent.”
Members of the Supreme Court (L-R) Associate Justices Amy Coney Barrett, Neil M. Gorsuch, Sonia Sotomayor, and Clarence Thomas, Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr., and Associate Justices Ketanji Brown Jackson, Samuel A. Alito, Jr., Elena Kagan, and Brett M. Kavanaugh pose in the Justices Conference Room prior to the formal investiture ceremony of Associate Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson September 30, 2022 in Washington, DC. President Joseph R. Biden, Jr., First Lady Dr. Jill Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff attended as guests of the Court. (Collection of the Supreme Court of the United States via Getty Images)
“The U.S. Supreme Court has said now three times in the last six years that a state does not need to fund private schools. But if they choose to do so, they cannot discriminate against religious institutions … they’ve been emphatic about that. So we’re relying on Supreme Court precedent here.”
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Stitt signed into law a legislative package that included tax credits for families with children in private schools as well as additional funding for rural schools and raises for teachers. The tax credits range from $5,000 to $7,500 per student depending on household income.
“God gave kids to parents, not to the government,” Stitt told Fox News. “So let’s put them in charge of where they go.”
