The U.S. Supreme Court on May 22 voted 4–4 to reject authorization for the nation’s first publicly funded religious charter school.
Justice Amy Coney Barrett recused herself and did not participate in the case known as Oklahoma Statewide Charter School Board v. Drummond. The respondent is Gentner Drummond, Oklahoma’s attorney general.
The Supreme Court’s unsigned opinion consists of one sentence: “The judgment is affirmed by an equally divided Court.” No reasons for the ruling were provided.
As the vote resulted in a tie, under court rules, the lower court ruling being appealed is affirmed.
On June 25, 2024, the Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled against the school, ordering the school board to cancel the contract and finding that the school was a governmental entity.
The court determined that, since the school was deemed a state actor, denying it charter status did not violate the free exercise clause.
The state court also found that the school’s contract with the school board violated the Oklahoma Constitution’s prohibition against “using public money for the benefit or support of any religious institution.”
The court did not indicate how the justices voted – and oral arguments are not always an accurate predictor. But when the court heard the case in late April, Chief Justice John Roberts, in particular, asked sharp questions of both sides and appeared to be leaving his options on a decision open.
Three of the court’s conservatives appeared to support the creation of the school, while the court’s three liberal justices seemed opposed to it.
Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt and the state’s former attorney general, John O’Connor, both Republicans, supported the school’s creation. But when Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond took office in 2023, he withdrew support for the school and ultimately sued to stop its approval.
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