Oklahoma AG sues state board over virtual Catholic charter school

Warning that Oklahoma may eventually be forced to fund schools teaching Sharia law, state Attorney General Gentner Drummond sued a state board on Friday for approving a virtual Catholic charter school.

“Make no mistake, if the Catholic Church were permitted to have a public virtual charter school, a reckoning will follow in which this State will be faced with the unprecedented quandary of processing requests to directly fund all petitioning sectarian groups,” Drummond’s lawsuit states.

“For example, this reckoning will require the State to permit extreme sects of the Muslim faith to establish a taxpayer-funded public charter school teaching Sharia Law.”

Gov. Kevin Stitt, a proponent of public funding for religious schools, called the lawsuit “a political stunt.” State schools Superintendent Ryan Walters also criticized the suit.

Drummond’s suit was filed with the Oklahoma Supreme Court and is the second challenge lodged against the virtual charter school board for its approval in June of an application filed by Catholic leaders in Oklahoma to launch a school, St. Isidore of Seville, that would receive public funding. The virtual charter school board approved the contract for St. Isidore last week.

The first legal challenge came in July, in a lawsuit filed in Oklahoma County District Court led by Americans United for the Separation of Church and State, the ACLU, the Education Law Center and Freedom from Religion Foundation.

Like the first challenge, Drummond’s suit says the board’s action was prohibited by the Oklahoma Constitution, which contains a provision stating: “No public money or property shall ever be appropriated, applied, donated, or used, directly or indirectly, for the use, benefit, or support of any sect, church, denomination, or system of religion, or for the use, benefit, or support of any priest, preacher, minister, or other religious teacher or dignitary, or sectarian institution as such.”

Drummond noted that Oklahomans voted overwhelmingly in 2016 to retain that provision. That vote came a year after the Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled that the provision prohibited a Ten Commandments monument on state land.

“In sum, despite the clear and unambiguous language of Oklahoma’s Constitution and statutes, the will of Oklahoma’s voters who soundly rejected amending Oklahoma’s Constitution in 2016 to allow public money to be applied to sectarian organizations, and the legal advice by the chief law officer of this State, the Board members violated their plain legal duty to deny sponsorship of St. Isidore,” the lawsuit states.

“Accordingly, this Court must remediate the Board’s unlawful action.”

Drummond made his objections clear before the virtual charter school board approved the St. Isidore application, and he warned that a lawsuit might follow. He asked the Oklahoma Supreme Court on Friday to issue a writ of mandamus to force the board to rescind its approval of St. Isidore.

Drummond said the board’s action also violates the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, specifically the clause that says Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion.

“Government spending in direct support of religious education violates the Establishment Clause,” Drummond’s suit states.

He predicted the virtual charter school board “will likely attempt to distance St. Isidore from what St. Isidore has become through its contract with the Board — a public school. But this is nothing more than an exercise in word play. This Court should not allow St. Isidore to avail itself of the benefits of being a public school, while it cherry picks rules that apply to it (conveniently not to include the separation of church and state).”

Stitt said Drummond’s lawsuit “is a political stunt and runs counter to our Oklahoma values and the law.

“AG Drummond seems to lack any firm grasp on the constitutional principle of religious freedom and masks his disdain for the Catholics’ pursuit by obsessing over non-existent schools that don’t neatly align with his religious preference," Stitt said in a statement. "His discriminatory and ignorant comment concerning a potential Muslim charter is a perfect illustration. The creation of St. (Isidore's) is a win for religious and education freedom in Oklahoma. We want parents to be able to choose the education that is best for their kids, regardless of income. The state shouldn’t stand in the way.”

Walters said, "Oklahoma parents know what is best for their kids and deserve the most expansive system of school choice in the country so they can make the right decision for their families. The approval of St. Isidore of Seville is a landmark in the battle for educational and religious freedom, and I am proud that Oklahoma is leading the way. We will never back down.”

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma AG sues state board over virtual Catholic charter school