The Oklahoma Statewide Virtual Charter School Board has voted 3-2 to approve the charter application for an online school, St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School.
The newly approved St. Isidore will be overseen by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Oklahoma City and the Diocese of Tulsa. The school will start holding classes in the fall of 2024.
Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt released a statement, commending the board’s courage to approve the school.
He said, “This is a win for religious liberty and education freedom in our great state, and I am encouraged by these efforts to give parents more options when it comes to their child’s education.”
Americans United for Separation of Church and State vowed to file litigation against the state over the decision.
The Virtual Charter School Board had initially rejected St. Isidore’s application in April, citing multiple points of concern with the charter school request, among them questions of constitutionality.
But Oklahoma Attorney General John O’Connor and Solicitor General Zach West released an opinion arguing that state prohibitions against faith-based charter schools might not be lawful.
O’Connor and West cited recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions, such as last year’s David Carson et al. v. A. Pender Makin, to argue that Christian educational institutions can’t be barred from public funding.