Charter School Organization Opposes Religious Charter School
From Forbes.com
The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case that will decide the fate of what could be the nation’s first religious charter school. While St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual Charter School has attracted support from groups that back school choice, it has drawn opposition from one large group in the charter sector-- the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools.
The U.S. Supreme Court is hearing an appeal of the Oklahoma Supreme Court ruling against the creation of the school. St. Isidore, they ruled, is a charter school, therefore it is a public school and a state actor. Therefore the Establishment Clause and the Oklahoma Constitution apply, and the Free Exercise does not (because, says the court, St. Isidore is not a private entity). Wrote the court:
The State’s establishment of a religious charter school violates Oklahoma statutes Oklahoma Constitution, and the Establishment Clause. St. Isidore cannot justify existence by invoking Free Exercise rights as religious entity. St. Isidore came into existence through its charter with the State and will function as a component of the state’s public school system. The case turns on the State’s contracted-for religious teachings and activities through a new public charter school, not the State’s exclusion of a religious entity.
In other words, charters can’t invoke the rights of a private organization to Free Exercise, because they are not private organizations, but part of the state.
At the heart of the case is this question: Are charter schools public or private? Funded with public taxpayer dollars, but owned and operated by private organizations, charters have always existed in a grey area between public and private.
Among those arguing against St. Isidore is the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools. NAPCS is a “national nonprofit organization committed to advancing the charter school movement” and has been doing its advocacy work for two decades. The organization has drawn a clear line on the nature of charter schools.