Gov. Kevin Stitt and State Superintendent Ryan Walters are urging the Supreme Court to take up a case involving what would be the nation’s first taxpayer-funded private school.
The move comes after the Statewide Charter School Board petitioned the high court last month, following a split vote.
This summer, Oklahoma’s Supreme Court ruled the contract for the St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual Charter School was unconstitutional. State Attorney General Gentner Drummond originally filed the lawsuit a year ago, arguing that Oklahoma law prevents taxpayer dollars from going to sectarian institutions.
Friday afternoon, Stitt and Walters announced they filed amicus briefs with the U.S. Supreme Court in support of the Statewide Charter School Board. Stitt characterizes the lawsuit as an attack on religious freedom and criticizes Drummond for “intolerance.” Walters’ brief says the Oklahoma court’s ruling “transforms the Establishment Clause into a cudgel against the Free Exercise Clause.”
The nation’s high court began its term last month. Oral arguments for cases are generally heard through April.
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