Posted on 01/24/2025 4:32:02 PM PST by E. Pluribus Unum
The Supreme Court said Friday it will hear a pair of cases challenging whether states can ban religious schools from taking part in their taxpayer-funded charter school programs.
Oklahoma has denied St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School a place among its charter schools, citing the religious nature of its curriculum. Oklahoma says the school, in becoming a charter, would be a “public” actor and that would run afoul of the Constitution’s prohibition on entangling government and religion.
But the school and its backers say they are being treated differently than other charter school applicants because of their religion. That amounts to unconstitutional discrimination against its right to free exercise of religion, the school argued.
“This case presents the ideal vehicle to resolve that exceptionally important question,” St. Isidore told the justices last year in asking them to hear the case.
The charter school board had approved St. Isidore’s application but Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond went to the state’s Supreme Court to halt the application. That court sided with him.
St. Isidore says the issue is whether charter schools are state actors. Some lower courts have agreed with that notion, but others have not, the school said.
The school says merely receiving state money doesn’t make it an agent of the state.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...
Of course they can’t.
UNfortunately this means that madrasses may become a reality in the US.
The First Amendment guarantees freedom OF religion, not freedom FROM religion.
Yep, granny will get to fund churches, yeshivas, ashrams, gurdwaras or perhaps the local school of satan.
"If you let Caesar educate your children, you should not be surprised when they grow up to be Romans."
Specifically the First Amendment prohibits Congress, i.e., the federal government, from passing any legislation addressing the question of the establishment of religion one way or the other. The states are free to do as they please. The reading that the 14th Amendment applies this to the states is as false as the one that says it also establishes birthright citizenship. Both false readings need to be challenged.
In Minneapolis there is one (of many) Muslim charter schools. The problem is, that the Somali school administrators need to take a math class on Financial ethics. Like daycare and food duing covid, the Somali population has much difficulty managing the govt money.
If the Catholics or the Lutherans want schools, they are private. Grifters want our money.
Listen, any school that is named for St. Isidore of Saville — one of the world’s true savants — I say more power to it.
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