Did you need to hear the oral arguments to know the likely outcome in Oklahoma Statewide Virtual Charter School v Drummond?
Yesterday morning, the Supreme Court considered whether the state of Oklahoma was required to approve and fully fund a Catholic charter school in its charter school program. Unfortunately, but not surprisingly, the answer may well be yes. With Justice Barrett recused, it all depends on whether Chief Justice Roberts joins the four other conservatives. The case started when Oklahoma’s Charter School Board voted 3-2 to approve St. Isidore, a Catholic charter school—a school that intended to incorporate Catholicism into every aspect of the school. That decision was eventually reversed by the Oklahoma Supreme Court. Its ruling is now under review. Just to be clear, the question before the Supreme Court was not whether the State of Oklahoma is constitutionally allowed to use taxpayer dollars to directly and wholly fund a Catholic charter school given the Establishment Clause, which has long barred direct government funding of religious proselytization and education. Rather, the q...