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U.S. Supreme Court

Supreme Court will decide whether Oklahoma can fund Catholic charter school

By Debra Cassens Weiss

January 27, 2025, 10:16 am CST

The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday agreed to decide whether the First Amendment allows Oklahoma to fund a Catholic online school as part of its charter school program.

At issue is whether funding the school violates the establishment clause and whether excluding the school from the program violates the free exercise clause, according to cert petitions here and here in the two consolidated cases.

The “blockbuster” cases could “redraw the line between church and state by allowing government to establish and directly fund religious schools for the first time,” the Washington Post reports.

The cert grant follows a 2022 Supreme Court decision holding that Maine could not exclude religious schools from a publicly funded tuition assistance program.

Other publications covering the cert grant include SCOTUSblog, CNN, Law360, Reuters and the New York Times. How Appealing links to additional coverage.

The school, formed by the Oklahoma archdioceses of Oklahoma City and Tulsa, Oklahoma, would include religious teachings in its lessons. The state’s virtual charter school board approved the school in June 2023.

The Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled in June 2024 that funding the school violated the First Amendment’s establishment clause, the Oklahoma Constitution and a state law governing charter schools. The decision said government control over the school made it a state actor.

The ruling was a win for Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond, who had opposed funding the school. Other Republican office holders had supported the school, however.

Justin Driver, a professor at Yale Law School, told the New York Times that a Supreme Court decision that allows funding “would represent nothing less than a sea change in constitutional law.”

“It is difficult to overstate the significance of this opinion for our constitutional order and the larger American society,” Driver said.

The cases are Oklahoma Statewide Charter School Board v. Drummond and St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School v. Drummond. The case pages are here and here.

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3. SCOTUS will decide whether schools can require…

U.S. Supreme Court

SCOTUS will decide whether schools can require LGBTQ-themed books at story time with no opt-outs

By Debra Cassens Weiss

January 21, 2025, 10:27 am CST

The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday agreed to decide whether schools can require teachers to read storybooks to elementary-age children with LGBTQ characters and themes over parents’ objections.

At issue is whether the required instruction with no possibility of opting out violates parents’ First Amendment right to free exercise of religion.

SCOTUSblog, the Washington Post, the New York Times, Reuters and the Volokh Conspiracy are among the publications with coverage of the cert grant in Mahmoud V. Taylor.

The SCOTUSblog case page is here.

One of the books, Pride Puppy, is about a puppy that gets lost during a gay pride parade, according to SCOTUSblog. Another, My Rainbow, is about a mother who makes a colorful wig for her transgender daughter.

Both books were removed from the curriculum after the lawsuit was filed, the Washington Post reported in October.

Other books remain, including Love, Violet, which is about a young girl trying to make a valentine for a female classmate.

The Richmond, Virginia-based 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals had ruled 2-1 against the parents in May, holding that the parents weren’t entitled to a preliminary injunction because they had not shown that they or their children were forced to change their religious beliefs or conduct.

According to the cert petition, five circuits now hold that Supreme Court precedent “essentially provides parents no protection once they place their children in the public system.” Only one circuit has found that forced instruction burdens parents’ free exercise rights under the precedent, the 1972 Supreme Court case Wisconsin v. Yoder, the petitioners say.

The defendants in the case are the Montgomery County, Maryland, superintendent of public schools, the school board and its members. They argue that there is no circuit split on the issue.

“Every single court of appeals that has considered the question has held that mere exposure to controversial issues in a public school curriculum does not burden the free religious exercise of parents or students,” their brief says.

The parents who challenged the policy are represented by the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, a nonprofit public interest law firm, which issued a Jan. 17 press release here.

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3. 11th Circuit rules for athletic association…

Religious Law

11th Circuit rules for athletic association that refused to allow pregame prayer over PA system

By Debra Cassens Weiss

September 4, 2024, 10:09 am CDT

A federal appeals court has ruled against a private Christian school alleging that its First Amendment rights were violated when the Florida High School Athletic Association rejected its request to broadcast a pregame prayer over the public address system.

In a Sept. 3 decision, the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals at Atlanta found no violation of the Cambridge Christian School’s rights to free speech and free exercise of religion, report Courthouse News Service and the Florida Phoenix.

After the prayer request was denied, the Cambridge Christian School and the opposing team prayed at midfield before play began in the 2015 state championship football game at the Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Florida.

Messages on the PA system before the championship game at a government-owned stadium were government speech with no First Amendment restrictions, the 11th Circuit said.

Three factors—history, endorsement and control—support the conclusion that the PA system policy was government speech, the appeals court said.

The history of the pregame speech in playoff games shows that it was entirely scripted and typically limited, making it traditional government speech. Observers could reasonably think that the pregame comments were endorsed by the government. And the association controlled the script. PA announcers had to follow instructions for promotional announcements, player introductions and awards ceremonies.

The appeals court also said the Tampa, Florida, Christian school’s request for declaratory and injunctive relief are moot because of a new Florida law and new policy by the association. The law, which took effect in July 2023, requires the association to allow schools to make opening remarks that can include prayers at championship games.

Under association policy adopted to comply with the law, opening remarks must be under two minutes in length and carry a disclaimer that they are not endorsed by the association. The remarks cannot be derogatory, rude or threatening.

The appeals court also said the Cambridge Christian School lacked standing for an injunction because there is no indication that it will return to the championship soon.

“Hope springs eternal, but standing cannot be built on hope,” the 11th Circuit said. “With all due respect to the Cambridge Christian Fighting Lancers, there’s nothing to suggest that the team’s participation in a future football state championship is imminent or even likely.”

The school was represented by the First Liberty Institute, a group that litigates religious liberty cases, according to a prior June 2023 press release on the case.

See also:

Supreme Court rules for praying football coach, drops Lemon test

Gorsuch and Kavanaugh sour on Lemon endorsement test in praying football coach case

Supreme Court considers whether high school football coach has right to pray on the field