What Would Religious Charter Schools Mean for American Education?

St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School v. Drummond is a sleeper case coming before the Supreme Court this spring with potentially enormous ramifications for education across the country. The case stems from Oklahoma, where the state court blocked the launch of St. Isidore because the proposed charter school would be operated by two Catholic dioceses and teach Catholic theology as truth. St. Isidore’s leaders have appealed to the nation’s highest court on free exercise grounds.

The legal argument goes like this: In two recent decisions—Espinoza v. Montana and Carson v. Makin—the Supreme Court found if states operate private school choice programs, like vouchers or ESAs, they can’t exclude religious schools from participating merely because they are religious. Doing so violates the First Amendment by forcing schools to choose between being religious or accessing public benefits. St. Isidore asks the court to apply the same reasoning to charter schools.

Opponents argue that Espinoza and Carson don’t apply to charter schools because they’re about private school choice, whereas charter schools are public. That distinction matters because, unlike private schools, public schools are subject to the Establishment Clause. This brings us to the question at the heart of St. Isidore: Are charter schools public or private schools?

More concretely, the question is whether charters are so tightly controlled by the state that, for First Amendment purposes, they are “state actors.” On the one hand, the state approves, regulates, and funds charter schools. On the other hand, the same could be said of military contractors, private universities, and numerous humanitarian groups—entities that are usually viewed as private.

Given its recent decisions, the Court is generally expected to rule in favor of St. Isidore. However, Justice Barrett’s recusal on the case increases the likelihood of a four-to-four split, which would leave the Oklahoma court ruling in place. There is less certainty about the policy implications of the case—raising a host of questions about what religious charter schools would mean for American education.

What would a victory for St. Isidore mean for charter schools? Some charter school leaders worry that it could lead to burdensome regulations. The Supreme Court could find charter schools are only state actors if they face stringent regulations from their states. In response, blue states might pile regulations on charter schools to clarify that they are arms of the state—a blow to a school sector that has thrived on autonomy. Worse, charter advocates are concerned that, to avoid the appearance of discriminating against religious applicants, blue states might stop authorizing charter schools altogether.

What might religious charter schools mean for Catholic education? For decades, parochial schools have been closing due to budget issues, particularly in urban neighborhoods that serve the most disadvantaged students. Some struggling parochial schools have converted to charter schools to remain afloat, but had to forfeit their religious status. Now, becoming a charter school might be a more attractive solution—the school can remain Catholic, and charter schools receive thousands of dollars more per student than private schools participating in voucher programs. However, there could be trade-offs, such as reduced autonomy and potentially diminished Catholic identity, including doubts about whether they could legally prioritize Catholic applicants in hiring and admissions.

How would religious charter schools affect school funding? Education scholar Derek Black has argued that “Shifting the cost of religious schools onto taxpayers would create enormous statewide school financing challenges” due to the sudden influx of new schools eligible for per-pupil funding. Arguably, this could divert funds from district schools (a perpetual fear of school-choice opponents) or add substantially to state and district education spending. Extant charter schools’ funding could suffer as well if redefining charters as private schools affects funding formulas or the ensuing uncertainty makes loans harder to secure.

What would be the social and cultural implications of religious charter schools? Here arguments that America’s school system was designed to provide a common, nonsectarian education to citizens run into views of religious education as a healthy example of American pluralism that can provide a range of schools with distinctive cultures. Of course, a pluralism that includes Catholic schools doesn’t stop there. For some, full spectrum pluralism is the problem. Oklahoma’s attorney general put it plainly, writing “Today, Oklahomans are being compelled to fund Catholicism…Tomorrow we may be forced to fund radical Muslim teachings like Sharia law.”

The court’s decision in St. Isidore poses a raft of questions, with implications for both the law and US schools. To unpack these many facets, we’re hosting a public debate on April 16 on the motion “The US Supreme Court should rule in favor of Oklahoma’s religious charter school. It’s right on the law and policy.” If you’re curious about what religious charter schools could mean for American education, we hope that you’ll join.