Supreme Court Case Is Vital for Future of Charter-School Funding

A high-stakes clash at the US Supreme Court threatens to upend the nation’s charter-school system and further strain an already challenged investment arena.

The court on Wednesday will consider a bid to create the country’s first religious charter school in Oklahoma, a step that would let the school directly receive public funding. It would be the latest embrace of religion from a court that has in recent years blurred longstanding constitutional boundaries between church and state.

Schools across the US are already under pressure as they contend with a shrinking pool of students because of a declining birth rate. ...