Various interest groups have filed a lawsuit against an Oklahoma school board to stop the opening of the nation’s first religious public charter school, saying the tax-funded Catholic school violates the separation of church and state.
The 70-page complaint filed Monday in Oklahoma court claims that authorization for a Catholic public charter school violates aspects of the state constitution, which protects against discrimination including that based on sexual orientation or gender identity.
The plaintiffs say that St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School, which is set to open next year, will discriminate against LGBTQ+ students and will indoctrinate them with Catholic teachings.
They also claim that St. Isidore, located in Oklahoma City, isn’t able to provide for disabled students and that it would be led by the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City.
“Public schools and other governmental entities and state actors are prohibited from discriminating based on religion, coercing people to engage in religious activity or undertake religious instruction, or proselytizing or indoctrinating people in any religion,” the lawsuit reads.
The plaintiffs are represented by the American Civil Liberties Union, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, the Education Law Center and the Freedom From Religion Foundation. They include parents of disabled students, LGBTQ+ students and advocates against the Catholic school, including the nonprofit Oklahoma Parent Legislative Action Committee.
Their lawsuit asks the court to block the school from being funded as a public charter school.
They’re suing the Statewide Virtual Charter School Board, which approved the school’s charter school application on June 5.
The board and the school did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Rachel Laser, president and CEO of Americans United, said it would be a sea change for American democracy to have a public school that is religious.
“It’s hard to think of a clearer violation of the religious freedom of Oklahoma taxpayers and public-school families than the state establishing a public school that is run as a religious school. We’re witnessing a full-on assault on church-state separation and public education — and religious public charter schools are the next frontier. America needs a national recommitment to church-state separation,” Ms. Laser said.