Now that was a rather surprising Supreme Court ruling.
Not only was the ruling a complete deadlock, but it was also the first major ruling in quite some time that Supreme Court Justice Amy Cony Barrett – a Trump appointee – did not take part in a rather high-profile decision.
A decision that relates explicitly to charter schools and the presence of any religious elements, or lack thereof.
In the case of Oklahoma, which was set to open the first Christian charter school in the country, it would appear that a gridlocked Supreme Court is precisely why the school will not move forward at this juncture in time, according to a report from The Hill.
“The Supreme Court deadlocked 4-4 on whether to approve the nation’s first publicly funded religious charter school Thursday, leaving intact a lower ruling that voided the Oklahoma school’s contract … The decision lets stand a ruling from the Oklahoma Supreme Court rejecting the bid to establish St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School, which spurred a major constitutional battle over the role of religion in state-funded education,” The Hill detailed.
The 4-4 decision was the direct result of Barrett’s self-recusal, though the precise reasoning behind the recusal has not been detailed.
“The judgment is affirmed by an equally divided court,” the terse, one-sentence decision summary added.
Some decision … given that nothing appeared to have been decided at all with one key justice sitting the decision out.
What a saga the case has been in general.
As detailed by The Hill, the fight over St. Isidore has effectively been “a multiyear, high-profile legal battle,” which commended near-immediately after the Oklahoma Statewide Charter School Board issued an approval for St. Isidore’s contract.
Interestingly, the most vehement opponent of the charter school’s approval is a Republican – Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond.
Indeed, Drummond has been the principal opponent of St. Isidore, though he seems more concerned about the potential for Islamic charter schools.
“The Supreme Court has ruled in favor of my position that we should not allow taxpayer funding of radical Islamic schools here in Oklahoma … I am proud to have fought against this potential cancer in our state, and I will continue upholding the law, protecting our Christian values and defending religious liberty,” Drummond asserted.
Well, that may be – but the reality is that it was a Christian school, rather than an Islamic school, in question.
Unless, of course, Drummond is aware of information that others are not – such as the potential for an Islamic charter school to open imminently in the event that St. Isidore succeeded.
James Campbell, the attorney who argued on behalf of the charter school board, is certainly not pleased with Drummond’s viewpoint, arguing that more, rather than fewer, educational choices are critically important.
“Oklahoma parents and children are better off with more educational choices, not fewer,” Campbell asserted.
Without a doubt …
Especially when many K-12 teachers appear absolutely obsessed with gender ideology.
Author: Ofelia Thornton
