Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison has aligned with 18 other attorneys general in presenting an amicus brief to the U.S. Supreme Court. The brief urges the Court to reject the establishment of the country's first taxpayer-funded religious charter school. This case, Oklahoma Statewide Charter School Board v. Drummond, calls for the Court to endorse a ruling by the Oklahoma Supreme Court, which in 2024 determined that approving the school was unconstitutional.
The plaintiff, St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School, was given the green light by the Oklahoma Statewide Charter School Board in 2023 to function as a public charter school while maintaining a religious foundation. The 2024 decision by the Oklahoma Supreme Court, however, found this approval to be in contradiction with both state and federal constitutional law. An appeal has led to the upcoming session of the U.S. Supreme Court later this month.
Attorney General Ellison stated, “Minnesota is one of 46 states along with the federal government require charter schools to be non-sectarian. These laws exist because charter schools are bound by the First Amendment, and granting charters to religious schools would violate it. My fellow attorneys general and I are asking the court to preserve charter schools as public, governmental entities that bring citizens into the governance of our public schools.”
The coalition argues in the brief that charter schools, akin to all public schools, must adhere to secular principles as required by the First Amendment. Charter schools should function as parts of the public education system, involving parents and educators in their governance without deviating from constitutional standards, such as being inclusive to all students, being tuition-free, and devoid of religious teaching.
The brief also cautions that permitting religious charter schools would conflict with existing non-religious charter school laws and create a predicament for states. Such a move could compel states to either incorporate religious instruction into what are intended to be public schools or terminate charter school programs altogether to adhere to constitutional directives. The coalition insists that decisions on the governance and structure of public schools should rest with states, not federal judicial intervention.
Attorney General Ellison is joined in this appeal by his counterparts from Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Washington.