The Supreme Court may be poised to erode the Separation of Church and State further when it comes to public education, with St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School v. Drummond. This involves Oklahoma’s St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School’s attempt to become the nation’s first publicly funded religious virtual charter school.
St. Isidore is an online school, named after the patron saint of the Internet, which raises concerns on its own, as if funding a religious school didn’t already do so.
The New York Times reports that students would learn about Catholic saints, the Ten Commandments, and other aspects of Catholic doctrine, as well as more about the Catholic faith. They would attend two Masses a year, and as private employers, the administrators could discriminate in hiring, for example, by showing a preference for Catholic applicants or rejecting candidates who identify as LGBTQ (Mervosh, 2025).
The court’s problem is determining whether to give money to Catholic schools, as funding is now permitted to flow to other charter schools. St. Isidore school supporters claim that charter schools operate more like private schools, despite being called public. Many would agree that charters that run on their terms are often considered public only because of their public funding.
But this wrong doesn’t make signing off on religious charter schools right. Charter schools have hurt public schools by creating a semi-private system that has not performed exceptionally well. It’s broken public education apart. Unfortunately, public funding of religious schools takes this to a new level.
I’m reposting a 2022 post about religion in schools below. More than ever, we need to respect and strengthen America’s incredible diversity. Religious schools of any kind fail to do that by their very nature. Nor do most Americans want to fund religious schools with their tax dollars.
Jasmine Bolton of U.S. News and World Report Why are We Subsidizing Religious Schools in America stated:
Whatever the Supreme Court rules on charter schools, billions of taxpayer dollars are already going to private school students in the form of vouchers – despite consistent public opposition to such taxpayer-funded subsidies.
Recent ballot measures have laid bare just how wide the opposition to vouchers has grown. Referendums to expand vouchers failed in all three states that considered them in 2024 – Nebraska, Kentucky and Colorado. Polling indicates voters don’t want tax funds to be shifted from public to private schools.
We collectively fund public schools for all children, regardless of their family’s personal beliefs, and whether we have children in those schools. It’s for the good of the country and our future.
Parents can choose a different school, but I don’t want to pay for their choice. I know the public school’s record. I don’t know the private school record, and I won’t likely believe in the religion they choose if my religion is different or if I don’t believe in any religion.
America is supposed to be a welcoming country, and public schools reflect that, open to people of many faiths or those with no religious affiliation. This is respectful of people, regardless of the faith they choose.
In this atmosphere, our kids learn about the world, become more accepting of others, and demonstrate their faith through actions, kindness, and welcoming others.
As a taxpayer, I want my dollars to support public schools that are free and open to all ideas without favoring one type of school over another or promoting any religion. I also want to help schools that accept children with disabilities and other challenges, and welcome all children.
We know that Catholic schools and even many charter schools and private schools are uneven in how they accept children, especially those with the most challenging disabilities.
For years, public schools have been overly transparent in showing every problem that exists, often due to underfunding. Yet, private and religious schools, along with many charter schools, are not held to such rigorous standards. It’s usually also not clear how well the teachers have been prepared or how well students perform on assessments.
In this case, there’s a reliance on online instruction, which is concerning. Most cyber schools have had lackluster or poor results so far. See: Pennsylvania Cyber Charter Schools Fail Black and Brown Students by Siobhan Standaert.
Within the walls of public schools, America comes together, learns from each other, and provides support and care for all. Now more than ever, that’s what’s needed. Public schools are open to all, and are the schools America relies on, not for the education of our children, although they are free to attend, but for everyone’s children no matter their beliefs.
Mervosh, S. (2025, April 30). St. Isidore, an Online Catholic Charter School, Would Be the First of Its Kind. The New York Times, Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/30/us/politics/st-isidore-religious-charter-school.html
See also:
Religion’s Destructive Effect on Public Education this July 4th
July 4, 2022 By Nancy Bailey 9 Comments (Edit)
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