BJC and Other Faith Groups Warn: Supreme Court Case Threatens Religious Liberty and Public Education

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments in Oklahoma Statewide Charter School Board, et al. v. Drummond, a case that could upend long-standing constitutional protections for both religious freedom and public education.

At stake is whether Oklahoma must authorize and fully fund the nation’s first religious, taxpayer-funded charter school – St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School. It’s an attempt to reverse  a ruling from the Oklahoma Supreme Court that charter schools are public schools and therefore cannot provide religious instruction.

“This case is a turning point,” said Holly Hollman, general counsel and associate executive director of BJC. “If the Court compels states to fund religious education through charter schools, it will entangle government with religion in ways the Constitution was designed to prevent.”

The consequences could ripple far beyond Oklahoma. If the state is forced to sponsor religious charter schools, public education systems across the country could become battlegrounds over which faiths are favored, forcing taxpayers of all beliefs – and of no belief – to underwrite religious teachings dictated by the government.

A diverse coalition of religious organizations – including Baptists, Jews, Muslims, Episcopalians, Lutherans, and others – filed an amicus brief in the case explaining why the government should not fund religious education. They argue that state-funded religious charter schools would not protect religious liberty but instead compromise it by undermining the institutional separation of church and state.

“Robust religious freedom means the government doesn’t pick winners and losers when it comes to faith,” Hollman said. “That principle is at risk in this case.”

For media inquiries please contact:

Karlee Marshall | [email protected]

About BJC

BJC is the only national faith-based organization solely focused on protecting religious freedom for all. For more than 85 years, BJC has brought legal, faith, and policy voices together to ensure every person – of any faith or no faith – can live according to their beliefs, free from government interference. Learn more at BJConline.org and follow @BJContheHill on X (formerly known as Twitter), @BJContheHill on Instagram, and @bjconthehill.bsky.social on Bluesky.