The OSVCSB in June voted to approve the school’s application after having rejected it earlier. Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt in June called the approval decision “a win for religious liberty and education freedom in our great state.”
State Attorney General Gentner Drummond, on the other hand — also a Republican — said after the application’s approval that the project was “unconstitutional.”
“The approval of any publicly funded religious school is contrary to Oklahoma law and not in the best interest of taxpayers,” Drummond claimed, arguing that the board members “violated their oath in order to fund religious schools with our tax dollars.”
Following the application approval, several activist groups also sued the state to block further development of the project. The Freedom From Religion Foundation said in a statement that it was “unconscionable” for Oklahoma to “be funding such an obviously sectarian religious school.”
That suit is currently ongoing. Last month the Oklahoma State Department of Education filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit. In that filing, the state argued that the U.S. Supreme Court has “held that religious organizations like St. Isidore are eligible for generally available public benefits … without offending the Establishment Clause” of the U.S. Constitution.
School officials are aiming to have St. Isidore up and running by next year and hope to serve 1,500 students after five years in operation.
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