"This is a dangerous and unconstitutional move that promotes religious favoritism under the guise of protecting religious freedom."
#Trump has proposed cutting spending on #CivilRights enforcement in #schools, work-study programs & services for #students from disadvantaged backgrounds. But one corner of the education budget he would boost: #CharterSchools [I wonder if this has something to do w/the #religious charter school case before #SCOTUS right now]. His budget proposal would increase federal support for new charter schools by $60 million, or about 8.3%.
"Many state legislators are making a concerted push to erode the separation of church and state, embedding specific religious doctrines into public institutions and policies. Such actions threaten the religious freedom of all citizens by privileging one faith over others and compromising the neutrality of government."
#JohnRoberts is almost always in the majority in major cases, & he asked probing questions of both sides during the argument. But he also has consistently voted on the side of #religious rights in the court’s cases that have expanded the role of faith in #public life.
Gregory Garre, representing the #Oklahoma AG, who sued to block the #school, replied that #CharterSchools are different.
Under #state #law, he said, charter schools “come into existence when they are approved & become part of the state, & they’re established by the #legislature.” He pointed to the OK Supreme Court decision along those lines & said “virtually every state in the country & the #Congress has understood charter schools to be.”
#JohnRoberts said programs where #SCOTUS deemed #religious #schools eligible for playground #grants & school #vouchers were also “created & controlled by the state.”
He asked if the relevant test was whether the #school was “a creation & creature of the state? Because all of those were,” he said. “And we held it under the #FirstAmendment, you couldn’t exclude people because of their religious belief.”
#law #Constitution #ChurchAndState #NewApostolicReformation #education #ActivistCourt
Chief Justice #JohnRoberts, a key vote on the court, voiced skepticism that this case was any different from prior situations where #SCOTUS ruled that #religious entities could not be excluded from receiving #public money.
Roberts questioned the opponents’ argument that #CharterSchools are creations of the #state & therefore that the state may bar religious entities from participating.
Garre said no, because those #schools would still need to meet the state’s #academic #standards & could not focus their #curriculum on those subjects. As a #CharterSchool, St. Isidore would have to meet those standards, too, Garre has argued.
#Alito invoked several hypotheticals of what he called “progressive” #schools setting their own #curriculum, including being “an #LGBTQ+ friendly school” w/ #books that present #SameSex couples as “a perfectly legitimate lifestyle,” [#bigot] or teaching #history from the standpoint of #Project1619, which sought to reframe how the #UnitedStates talks about #slavery. [this fuckin guy]
Justice #SamuelAlito asked #Oklahoma atty Gregory Garre if #CharterSchools could be more flexible in their #curriculum & give families more alternatives to choose from in #public #education. Garre said all #PublicSchools, including charters, have to conform to the state’s curriculum requirements.
The conservative justices asked why a #religious #CharterSchool was different from a religiously run food bank or adoption agency that receives state government money through contract agreements.
Justice Brett #Kavanaugh signaled his support for St. Isidore’s application, saying that excluding religious #schools from the charter school program “seems like rank discrimination.”
Justice #ClarenceThomas pressed atty Gregory Garre on #Oklahoma’s position on the pivotal question at hand: that St. Isidore is a #PublicSchool, not a #private institution participating in a public program. Garre referenced the OK Supreme Court’s ruling that agreed.
“This court has a lot of authority, but I don’t think it has the authority to second guess [that],” Garre said.
The attorney representing #Oklahoma’s top #law enforcement officer told #SCOTUS that backing the #Catholic #CharterSchool would upend the traditional definition of #PublicSchools.
“It would result in the astounding rule that states not only may, but must fund & create public #religious #schools,” said attorney Gregory Garre, calling such a notion “an astounding reversal from this court’s time-honored precedents.”
#law #Constitution #ChurchAndState #NewApostolicReformation #education
Justice #ElenaKagan said she saw huge incentives for #religious groups of various faiths to start #CharterSchools if #SCOTUS ruled it was permissible. “There’s a line out the door,” she said, “if you can do this consistent with your religious beliefs.”
That would also disfavor #religions that don’t conform to other state requirements on #curriculum, she said.
Justice #ClarenceThomas asked atty Michael McGinley, representing the proposed St. Isidore #Catholic #school, what it would take for a school like this to be considered a state actor—& thus presumably unable to teach #religion.
“It requires government creation & control,” McGinley argued. He cited cases involving entities where government control was not complete & said that wasn’t enough for them to be considered a state actor.
A skeptical Justice #KetanjiBrownJackson asked whether #religious groups should be entitled to start #CharterSchools even though #Oklahoma charter #law seeks to establish only #secular #schools.
“As I see it, [St. Isidore] is not being denied a benefit that everyone else gets,” Jackson said. “It’s being denied a benefit that no one else gets, which is the ability to establish a religious #PublicSchool.”
#law #SCOTUS #Constitution #ChurchAndState #NewApostolicReformation #education
James Campbell, atty for the state charter board, replied that #Oklahoma state is simply signing a contract with a private entity with various contractual requirements.
“The state is not running these #schools,” he said. “There are dozens of other requirements that #CharterSchools are not subject to.”
Justice Brett #Kavanaugh seemed to try to help the #school’s atty by getting him to respond to concerns raised by Justice #Sotomayor. “You’re not saying the state can favor one #religion over another?” Kavanaugh asked.
In response, atty James Campbell assured #SCOTUS that no #student in #Oklahoma is forced to attend a #CharterSchool. “There are plenty of other options,” he said.
Justice #SamuelAlito grilled atty James Campbell on a claim brought by opponents of St. Isidore: that a ruling for the #Catholic #school could force #students into #religious institutions, because the school would be their “only free public option.”
Campbell said #Oklahoma #law forbids an entire #SchoolDistrict from converting to #CharterSchools. If such a situation arose, families could file a separate challenge.
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