Publicly-Funded Religious Charter School Challenged in Lawsuit

Oklahoma and its state school board are facing litigation over a plan to open the country’s first publicly-funded religious charter school.

The American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit in state court Monday on behalf of faith leaders, parents of public school children, and public education advocates to block state funding from going to the St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School.

The complaint alleged Oklahoma officials violated anti-discrimination protections written into the state constitution as well as state laws and regulations in approving a charter school run by the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City that will “provide a religious education ...