Mastodawn

#SCOTUS appears open to allowing the creation of the nation’s FIRST #public #religious charter #school in #Oklahoma, an unprecedented move that would reshape American #education & redraw the boundary between #ChurchAndState.
 A ruling for St. Isidore of Seville Virtual Catholic School would allow #taxpayer #money to directly flow to a faith-based school & give govt #sponsorship to a #curriculum that has students to adhere to #Catholic beliefs & #religious #mission.

#law #NewApostolicReformation

The sea change could have vast — & unpredictable — implications for the nation’s #parochial & traditional #PublicSchools alike, sparking efforts to create similar schools in other states. It would also supercharge a push by the #conservative majority on #SCOTUS to give #religion new prominence in #public life.

#law #Constitution #ChurchAndState #judiciary #NAR #NewApostolicReformation #education #indoctrination #FederalistSociety #FarRight #PartisanCourt #ActivistCourt #USpol

During oral arguments over the legality of St.Isidore, sharp ideological differences emerged among #SCOTUS justices as they grappled w/the significant #constitutional & #policy ramifications that make the case one of the most consequential on #education in decades. While all 3 liberal justices expressed deep skepticism about a #religious charter #school, there was no clear indication that any *#conservative* members of the court would join them in voting against the school.

#law #ActivistCourt

Supporters say denying direct #public #funding to public charter #schools amounts to anti-religious *discrimination* since states allow public money to flow to other types of charter schools [but #Catholic schools get money from the #church, #PublicSchools do not]. They say the schools will also give parents greater #education choices. 
#law #SCOTUS #Constitution #ChurchAndState #NAR #NewApostolicReformation #indoctrination #FederalistSociety #FarRight #PartisanCourt #ActivistCourt #USpol

But detractors say such schools are a fundamental violation of the separation of #ChurchAndState, could sap dollars from traditional #PublicSchools & could lead to [actual] #discrimination against #religious #minorities, #nonbelievers & #LGBTQ+ #students.

#law #SCOTUS #Constitution #judiciary #NAR #NewApostolicReformation #education #indoctrination #FederalistSociety #FarRight #PartisanCourt #ActivistCourt #USpol

As recently as a decade ago, legal experts thought the prospect of direct #public #funding for #religious public charter #schools was a long shot. But after a series of rulings by #SCOTUS & a careful legal & political campaign by #Catholic ofcls, #conservative attorneys & #Republican ofcls, the idea is on the cusp of becoming a reality.

Attorney D. John Sauer made his debut as #Trump’s solicitor general in court Wednesday.

#law #ChurchAndState #NewApostolicReformation #FederalistSociety

The case has the backing of an influential #religious liberty clinic at the University of #NotreDame’s #Law School in Indiana.

Law professor Nicole Garnett pressed the idea that denying govt funding for parochial charter schools would amount to anti-religious discrimination. She based her position on recent #SCOTUS decisions that have expanded the role of #religion in #public life.

#law #Constitution #ChurchAndState #NewApostolicReformation #education #FederalistSociety #ActivistCourt #USpol

Garnett, a former law clerk to Justice #ClarenceThomas & close friend of Justice #AmyConeyBarrett, has worked on school choice issues since the 1990s. In a 2020 paper, she argued that #SCOTUS had opened the door to remaking American #education by ruling in a Montana case that states may not exclude #religious #schools when offering subsidies or funding for PRIVATE education [totally different scenario]. #law #Constitution #ChurchAndState #NewApostolicReformation #FederalistSociety #ActivistCourt

The general counsel for the Archdiocese of #OklahomaCity knew Garnett & her work at #NotreDame, & in 2021 asked for her help.
 The #law school itself has become a pipeline for #SCOTUS clerks, w/ #conservative justices increasingly hiring Notre Dame grads & faculty to work in their chambers. The school has regularly paid for justices to lecture & teach.

#law #Constitution #ChurchAndState #NewApostolicReformation #education #indoctrination #FederalistSociety #ActivistCourt #USpol

#AmyConeyBarrett, who previously taught at #NotreDame, honorably #recused herself from the case, presumably because of her relationship w/ Garnett & the #law school.

Legal experts have said that one of Chief Justice #JohnRoberts’ most significant legacies is how #SCOTUS’ #conservative majority has steadily pushed #religion into #public life.

#Constitution #ChurchAndState #NAR #NewApostolicReformation #education #indoctrination #FederalistSociety #FarRight #PartisanCourt #ActivistCourt #USpol

Many of #SCOTUS’ major rulings in this arena over the past decade involve #schools. In 2017, the court found that Missouri could not exclude a #religious preschool from a playground resurfacing program. In a 2020 Montana case, the court required states that aid #PrivateSchools to include some faith-based ones in that funding. In 2022, the court required Maine to let parents use vouchers for religious schools. The same year, it let a high school football coach #pray on a school field.  #law

The trend is also evident in other areas, notably a 2023 ruling that found that #FreeSpeech protections shield some #businesses from having to provide services to #SameSex couples (the case involving a would-be Colorado wedding website designer).
 Justin Driver, a Yale #law prof, said #SCOTUS’ recent #jurisprudence has recalibrated the #Constitution’s traditional balance between #religion & #secularism as laid out in the #FirstAmendment.

#ChurchAndState #NewApostolicReformation #ActivistCourt

The #FreeExercise clause prohibits the
govt from interfering wi/the right of individuals to practice #religion, while the establishment clause prevents the govt from establishing an official religion or favoring faith over nonbelief.

“This #Oklahoma case is the potential culmination of the Roberts court effort to cast the free-exercise clause in the starring role in our constitutional order, & offer the establishment clause only a cameo,”Driver said.

#law #SCOTUS #Constitution #ActivistCourt

The watchdog group Accountable.us & Rep Hank Johson (D-GA) issued a letter calling for #ClarenceThomas’s #recusal from the #Oklahoma case because of his ties to Nicole Garnett, the #NotreDame #law prof, who helped shepherd it. 
But unlike #AmyConeyBarrett, Thomas did not #recuse.
 Garnett was a clerk for Thomas in the late 1990s & has maintained a close relationship w/ him, which Accountable & Johnson say call into question his objectivity in the case.

#law #SCOTUS #ethics

Garnett has called #ClarenceThomas a “mentor, teacher, friend — & hero,” according to the letter. The group also says Garnett has hosted Thomas & his wife, Virginia “Ginny” Thomas, at her home. Garnett’s husband co-taught seminars with Thomas at #NotreDame law school.

#law #SCOTUS #ethics #CorruptCourt #ActivistCourt

#Religious leaders, politicians & #PublicPolicy experts predict an explosion of new, #government-funded #religious #schools if #SCOTUS sides w/ #Catholic church ofcls in #Oklahoma in the case. Becoming a charter school would mean a steady stream of #funding & no need to charge #tuition. 
#law #Constitution #ChurchAndState #judiciary #NAR #NewApostolicReformation #education #indoctrination #FederalistSociety #FarRight #PartisanCourt #ActivistCourt #USpol

That said, many #religious educators have questions. Among them: Would #schools be able to give preference in #admissions to #students from the schools’ stated religious affiliation? Would they be allowed to continue hiring & firing employees based on #religion? Would #government #academic requirements take up so much of the school day that there’s not enough left for religious instruction?

#law #Constitution #ChurchAndState #NewApostolicReformation #education #FederalistSociety #ActivistCourt

There are also #secular implications of becoming a #CharterSchool. Charter #schools have more flexibility than traditional #PublicSchools, but there are rules about #teacher #qualifications, #curriculum #standards, #discipline processes, #employment terms, facility conditions & serving #students with #disabilities. Students are typically required to take standardized tests.

#law #SCOTUS #Constitution #ActivistCourt #ChurchAndState #NewApostolicReformation #education #FederalistSociety

“If your option is to either cease to exist or be a #religious #CharterSchool, you’d probably take a shot,” said Greg Richmond, superintendent of #schools for the Archdiocese of Chicago & a former president of the National Association of Charter School Authorizers.
 Schools that are financially sound would probably opt out, he said. “They would look at this & say, ‘We’re doing fine. We don’t want all those #regulations.’”

#law #SCOTUS #ChurchAndState #NewApostolicReformation #education

During oral arguments, Justices #ClarenceThomas & #KetanjiBrownJackson both asked if the proposed #Catholic #CharterSchool is a #public or #private entity.
 In response, the school board’s atty, James Campbell, said there’s no impermissible involvement of the #government in #religion because the school is established by 2 private Catholic orgs. And there’s no govt control of the #school because it would be operated by a privately selected board. 
#law #SCOTUS #ChurchAndState #education

However, #Oklahoma’s AG disagreed & said #CharterSchools are #public entities that must be #secular [agreed].
Chief Justice #JohnRoberts pointed out that the court’s earlier #religious-rights decisions involved discrete #tax or #tuition credits & said this proposal “does strike me as much more comprehensive involvement” by the #government in #religion.
#law #SCOTUS #Constitution #ChurchAndState #NewApostolicReformation #education #indoctrination #FederalistSociety #FarRight #ActivistCourt #USpol

Under questioning from Justice #ElenaKagan, the attorney for the #Oklahoma #CharterSchool board emphasized that St. Isidore’s is not seeking to exclude students based on their #religion. But what if another school wanted to do that? she asked. 
Atty James Campbell replied that this would require a different analysis.
 “The state’s interest in that case would be very different—the interest in ensuring that #schools open to all,” he said.
 #law #SCOTUS #Constitution #ChurchAndState #education

It’s an important point because while #private #Catholic #schools are generally open to #students of all faiths, other religions interested in creating #CharterSchools do consider the #religious backgrounds & practices of applicants.

Justice #Sotomayor sounded highly skeptical of the proposed school, telling its atty that if the #government is “paying religious teachers to teach their religion,” that would seem to violate the #FirstAmendment’s prohibition on govt establishment of religion.
#law

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.

#law #SCOTUS #Constitution #ChurchAndState #NewApostolicReformation #education

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.

#law #Constitution #ChurchAndState #NewApostolicReformation #education #FederalistSociety #ActivistCourt

Justice #ElenaKagan signaled skepticism of the proposed #Catholic #school, suggesting #CharterSchools are much like traditional #PublicSchools: They accept all applicants, they’re free, the state has a say in the #curriculum, the schools have to comply w/state #standards, & they can be closed by the state.
“When I look at #Oklahoma & its charter school program, these #schools look like regular public schools. These charter schools are, in every respect, equivalent to regular public schools”
#law

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.”

#law #SCOTUS #Constitution #ChurchAndState #NewApostolicReformation #education #FederalistSociety #ActivistCourt

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

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.

#law #SCOTUS #ChurchAndState #NewApostolicReformation #education

Justice #Sotomayor called out #Trump’s Solicitor General D. John Sauer for the federal govt’s change in position on the role of #CharterSchools. In response, Sauer said, “What changed is there’s a new administration.”

A change in admins didn’t used to mean a change the govt’s #legal position.

Sauer said his argument in favor of the #Catholic charter school does not imply that #religious charter schools would be permitted to reject students based on their religions.

#law #SCOTUS #education

Scott Lett Apr 30

@Nonilex "separate but equal," by any other name.

FurballsNHairballs Apr 30

@Nonilex
I thought that was kind of obvious....they want to establish Christian fundamentalism as the national religion.
I hate those extremists a lot.

MasterMischief Apr 30

@Nonilex I wish Christians would understand that not establishing an official religion protects them too. How do you know the official religion would be your particular brand? You are someone's heretic.