WASHINGTON—The National Education Association joined a broad-based coalition of education groups in filing an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in Oklahoma Charter School Board v. Drummond and St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School v. Drummond. The two cases, which were added late in the court’s current term, concern whether the Oklahoma Supreme Court correctly found that a charter authorizing board’s decision to create the nation’s first religious public charter school violated the Oklahoma state constitution, the state charter school statute, and the U.S. Constitution.
If the U.S. Supreme Court sides with the petitioners and holds that the Free Exercise Clause bars the state from refusing to authorize religious charter schools, the decision is likely to have broad repercussions. Forty-six states and the District of Columbia currently have charter school programs, all of which define and treat charter schools as public schools by, among other things, requiring them to offer a nonsectarian education. Over 7% of K-12 students attend such schools.
“Every student—no matter where they live, what they look like, or their religion—deserves access to a fully-funded neighborhood public school that gives them a sense of belonging and prepares them with the lessons and life skills they need to follow their dreams and reach their full potential,” said NEA President Becky Pringle. “Allowing taxpayer dollars to fund religious charter schools would put both public education and religious freedom at risk, opening the door to more privatization that undermines our public education system.”
The lower court ruling was in response to a petition filed with the Oklahoma Supreme Court by Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond, a Republican, who sought to rescind the Charter School Board’s contract with St. Isidore. Oklahoma teachers have agreed with the attorney general’s petition.
“Our public schools and educators work tirelessly to meet the needs of each student despite the challenges placed on them by elected officials,” said Cari Elledge, a fifth-grade teacher who serves as the president of the Oklahoma Education Association. “Requiring Oklahoma to fund religious doctrine in charter school programs diminishes funding for classroom resources, educator salaries, and other supports our students need. Ultimately, it can harm our students and our public schools by funneling funding meant for all to only a select few.”
The ramifications of allowing taxpayer money to fund religious charter schools will extend far beyond Oklahoma’s borders.
“More than 90% of American students—and 95% of students with disabilities—learn in our public schools. And these students need more opportunities, more resources, and greater protections, not less,” added Pringle. “The Supreme Court must not radically depart from the universal legal consensus that public schools, including charter schools, must welcome all students, be accountable to the public, and remain nonsectarian. Forcing taxpayers to fund charter schools that provide a religious curriculum and demand public funds without following public rules is a direct attack on public education, threatening the very foundation of our democracy.”
The U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled to hear oral arguments in the cases on April 30.
Follow us on Bluesky at https://bsky.app/profile/neapresident.bsky.social and https://bsky.app/profile/neatoday.bsky.social
# # #
The National Education Association is the nation’s largest professional employee organization, representing more than 3 million elementary and secondary teachers, higher education faculty, education support professionals, school administrators, retired educators, students preparing to become teachers, healthcare workers, and public employees. Learn more at www.nea.org.
Media Contact
- Staci Maiers, NEA Communications
- [email protected]
- Phone 202-270-5333
