The state of Oklahoma has rejected the application of a religious charter school backed by Oklahoma GOP Gov. Kevin Stitt and legally supported by former GOP Attorney General John O'Connor.
The Archdiocese of Oklahoma City and the Diocese of Tulsa filed an application to create the St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School, which would allow taxpayer dollars to be used to give parents a religious charter school option in Oklahoma. It would have been the first religious charter school in the U.S.
But the Oklahoma Statewide Virtual Charter School Board (OSVCSB) unanimously voted Tuesday to reject the application, according to reports.
While opponents of the first religious charter school in the nation cited constitutional separation between church and state issues, the OSVCSB rejected the application on the school's governance structure, The Oklahoman reported.
The application has 30 days to address the concerns and be refiled to be considered again, according to the report.
It still has a legal hurdle, though, because current AG Gentner Drummond has rejected his predecessor's opinion that taxpayer funds for a religious charter school is justifiable religious liberty.
"Religious liberty is one of our most fundamental freedoms," Drummond, a Republican, wrote Feb. 23 overruling O'Connor's opinion. "It allows us to worship according to our faith, and to be free from any duty that may conflict with our faith. The opinion as issued by my predecessor misuses the concept of religious liberty by employing it as a means to justify state-funded religion."
Stitt was firmly on the side of the former AG, however, backing O'Connor's opinion.
"O'Connor's opinion rightfully defends parents, education freedom, and religious liberty in Oklahoma," Stitt wrote in a statement in December. "Ultimately, government takes a backseat to parents who get to determine the best learning environment for their child."
Eric Mack ✉
Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.
© 2024 Newsmax. All rights reserved.