The Supreme Court Will Decide If Taxpayers Have To Fund Religious Schools

Oklahoma State Charter School Board v. Drummond is the latest in a string of so-called “religious freedom” cases that have gone before the Supreme Court in recent years.

The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday will hear oral arguments in a case that could determine whether taxpayers have to fund religious schools.

The Oklahoma state Supreme Court ruled last year that the Catholic Archdiocese of Oklahoma could not establish a virtual public religious charter school. The school board that governs both brick-and-mortar and virtual charter schools in the state is now asking the high court to strike down that decision.

Oklahoma State Charter School Board v. Drummond is the latest in a string of so-called “religious freedom” cases that have gone before the Supreme Court in recent years. A win for the plaintiff could bring us closer to the conservative movement’s goal of forcing Christianity into public life.

The Alliance Defending Freedom, a far-right legal organization that has been designated a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center, is representing the school board. The group, which has been involved in myriad cases about religious liberty, is framing the issue as one of school choice.

“Oklahoma parents and children are better off with more educational choices, not fewer,” Jim Campbell, the group’s chief legal counsel, said in a statement. “There’s great irony in state officials who claim to be in favor of religious liberty discriminating against St. Isidore because of its Catholic beliefs.”