On May 22, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a 4-4 split decision in the Oklahoma Statewide Charter School Board v. Drummond case, effectively blocking the creation of St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School – the nation’s first taxpayer-funded religious charter school. Justice Amy Coney Barrett recused herself from the case, leaving the court evenly divided and preventing a disturbing national precedent.
At issue was whether a religious institution could operate a publicly funded charter school. Supporters claimed exclusion was discriminatory; opponents argued it breached the First Amendment’s separation of church and state. The deadlock lets stand the Oklahoma Supreme Court’s ruling that such a school would violate both state and federal constitutional protections requiring public schools to remain secular.
American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten responded clearly: “We respect and honor religious education. It should be separate from public schooling … [public schools] are the bedrock of our democracy, and states have long worked to ensure that they remain secular, open and accessible to all.”
The implications of this case hit especially close to home in Texas, where the line between public funding and religious education is already being blurred. This legislative session, Texas passed a school voucher bill allowing public dollars to flow directly to private, often religious, institutions. The voucher program, opposed by a majority of Texans, undermines the constitutional principle of keeping church and state separate.
And that’s not all. Lawmakers have previously passed legislation allowing school districts to employ or accept volunteer chaplains, and pushed legislation this session requiring the Ten Commandments to be posted in every classroom. These efforts, taken together, mark a deliberate and escalating attempt to inject religion into public education using public funds, and they are the reason our members enshrined the right to freedom of religion in our public schools as one of 10 essential rights in our Educator’s Bill of Rights.
Public schools are meant to be inclusive, secular spaces that serve all children — regardless of faith. The Oklahoma case may have been narrowly decided, but the broader fight over the soul of public education is still very much alive in Texas.