Catholic Church in Oklahoma seeking government sanctioning, taxpayer funding for first religious charter school in U.S.

St. Isidore’s application for sponsorship from the Statewide Virtual Charter School Board lays out a vision to offer both online instruction and curriculum in small-town, rural Oklahoma, where Catholic communities may be too small for a parish school, but also supplemental online courses in existing, brick-and-mortar Catholic schools to expand access to foreign languages, advanced math, technology, elective subjects and even credit recovery in core classes.

“One of the challenges of Catholic schools in the rural areas is the cost. In a virtual environment, you can have a handful of students in a parish sitting in the same room they are in on Sunday for catechism class on Monday doing school work,” said Farley. “And, for example, if we can pipe German into a school — in that sense it is an existing school we are already operating, like Bishop Kelley (a Catholic high school in Tulsa) — we could offer that in a designated classroom there through Isidore.”

Asked whether Oklahoma statute allows for the kind of part-time enrollment of students envisioned for some through St. Isidore, Farley responded: “Fair question. It may be subject to new legislation. If we get approval, we will be seeking guidance from the state — Tell us what we’re supposed to do, and that’s what we’re going to do.”

Oklahoma is on the frontline in a new, national push for religious charter schools because of the way its current charter school law is constructed compared to those of other states.

Catholic leaders here have been working with the University of Notre Dame Law School’s religious liberty office on the St. Isidore proposal for 18 months, according to Farley.

“What state has the most ripe opportunity for religious charter schools? The answer for Notre Dame is Oklahoma,” he said in a Friday interview with the Tulsa World. “Our statutes are framed in such a way that our charter schools essentially are private schools that are publicly funded. Management, curriculum — every way you slice it — they are private schools.”

But that is debatable, and even Farley will tell you no matter how the St. Isidore application shakes out in the short term, this is a legal test case that is destined for litigation.

Oklahoma’s current law states that charter school sponsors “may not authorize a charter school or program that is affiliated with a nonpublic sectarian school or religious institution.” And any charter school’s programs, admission policies, employment practices and all other operations “shall be nonsectarian,” which means not involving or relating to a specific religious sect or political group.

But late last year before leaving office, then-Oklahoma Attorney General John O’Connor issued an advisory opinion that the state’s current ban on publicly funded charter schools being operated by sectarian and religious organizations could be a violation of the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment “and therefore should not be enforced.”

Americans United for Separation of Church and State has already publicly urged the Oklahoma Statewide Virtual Charter School Board to disregard O’Connor’s advice, which it branded “incorrect.”

Other groups that advocate for the separation of church and state are likely to be following the development of the St. Isidore charter application, too.

O’Connor’s legal opinion was requested after the virtual charter school board received notice in November 2021 that the Oklahoma City Archdiocese planned to apply.

Gov. Kevin Stitt, who appointed O’Connor after former Attorney General Mike Hunter resigned in May 2021, hailed O’Connor’s advisory opinion as a new defense of religious liberty and educational freedom.

Advisory opinions from the Attorney General’s Office are legally nonbinding until an Oklahoma district court determines that it should be binding, but O’Connor’s opinion served as a green light to the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City to proceed.

O’Connor’s advisory opinion does include this clarifying statement: that “just because the provision prohibiting charter schools from being sectarian ‘in its programs, admission policies, employment practices, and all other operations’ is likely unconstitutional does not mean that religious or religiously-affiliated charter schools can necessarily operate however they want in regard to ‘programs, admission policies, employment practices,’ and the like.”

St. Isidore’s application states it would exist for education, charitable and religious purposes, and that includes operating a school “in harmony with faith and morals, including sexual morality, as taught and understood” by the Catholic Church.

The proposed school would — “to the extent permissible” under the Oklahoma Charter Schools Act — “hire educators, administrators and coaches as ministers committed to living and teaching Christ’s truth as understood” by the Catholic Church “and to live this faith as a model for students.”

When asked whether that means St. Isidore would enroll students or hire employees who are LGBTQ or non-Christian, Farley said the answer goes back to the proposed school’s founding as a Catholic school, not a public school.

As such, Catholic schools can hire according to their religious beliefs, he said, because there is legal precedent that every religious school employee is ministering through their work.

As for the question about how open its enrollment of LGBTQ students would be, Farley said: “We would have to look at the specifics. It’s not something we haven’t dealt with in our own Catholic schools before, because we have, and we do it on a case-by-case basis.”

The Statewide Virtual Charter School Board was unable to hold monthly meetings in December and January since its third member, Brandon Tatum, resigned in November to become Stitt’s chief of staff.

Senate President Pro Tem Greg Treat recently appointed Nellie Tayloe Sanders of Kingfisher to the board, bringing its current membership back to three. That is the minimum quorum of members required so public meetings can resume.

Sanders works as senior vice president of philanthropy at the Center of Family Love, a 24-hour care facility in Okarche for mentally and physically disabled adults founded by the Oklahoma Knights of Columbus, a Catholic men’s organization.

Her husband, Mike Sanders, served in the Oklahoma House of Representatives from 2008-2020, and their children attend a private Catholic school in Okarche.

Asked whether it was a coincidence that she was asked to join the Statewide Virtual Charter School Board as it prepares to tackle this Catholic school test case, Sanders didn’t hesitate for a second before responding.

“I think it’s absolutely not a coincidence,” said Sanders. “But my religious affiliation and where I work have nothing to do with my passion for advocating for children with special needs. I believe every child learns differently and we have to be able to provide children with more opportunities to learn.”

Robert Franklin, a Tulsa Technology Center administrator who currently serves as board chairman, said protocols for considering sponsorship of new schools call for the board to hear a presentation of the St. Isidore application and get any questions board members may have answered at their next scheduled meeting, on Feb. 14; then a vote on the matter could occur as soon as the board’s March meeting.

The other current board member is a retired public school superintendent from Lawton, Barry Beauchamp. Two vacancies — one to be appointed by the governor and the other by House Speaker Charles McCall — remain on the board.