‘The people have spoken’: Throng of school choice supporters gather outside of Supreme Court amid ‘groundbreaking’ education case 

 The Supreme Court on Wednesday appeared open to greenlighting the nation’s first religious charter school, in an education case that has sparked a national religious liberty conversation.

Outside of the court, a throng of school choice supporters gathered to support St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School in Oklahoma, which is aiming to provide a publicly-funded Catholic education for families across the state who want more educational options.  

“We are in a national crisis when it comes to our literacy rates, our math rates, and we need more free market competition in the school choice movement across the board, so we shouldn’t be excluding high-quality options simply because of their religious affiliation,” America First Policy Institute Education Chair Erika Donalds told The Lion in an interview outside of the Supreme Court. “I think the people have spoken, and we want more options.” 

Donalds said she expects the Supreme Court to side with St. Isidore and “we’ll see religious charter schools across the United States.” 

Approved by the Oklahoma Statewide Charter School Board in 2023, St. Isidore has become the center of a national religious freedom dispute after the Republican Attorney General Gentner Drummond argued in a lawsuit that a religious charter school is unconstitutional.  

“Religious liberty means every citizen is free to worship as he or she sees fit. It does not mean the government should back religious indoctrination,” Drummond said in a statement after oral arguments.  

A key legal question in the case is whether charter schools – which are publicly funded but independently run – are state or private actors. Drummond has argued that charter schools are public schools since they are “funded by the state, regulated by the state, and can be closed by the state.” 

But an attorney for Alliance Defending Freedom, the group representing the state charter board that authorized St. Isidore, told The Lion a religious charter school is comparable to Christian adoption agencies or Catholic services that partner with the government but retain their private nature. 

“It’s run by a private organization,” attorney Kate Anderson said of the school. “It’s just authorized by the state to provide education options to kids, to all kids across the state. And that under the Supreme Court precedent, is a situation where you have a private school that’s taking part in a public program rather than a government entity taking part.” 

Excluding St. Isidore from the state’s generally available charter school program is religious discrimination, she said. The Supreme Court has repeatedly held that the government “needs to treat religious organizations the same as secular organizations.” 

At its core, Anderson said, the case is “about providing more options to parents to choose the best education for their kid” and improving education across the state. 

Outside of the court, education leaders and parents agreed, rallying for more education options and holding “Free to Learn” signs, with no counter-protesters in sight. Ahead of oral arguments, a church band and a Christian school choir performed worship music and the national anthem.

“We’re here because we believe that all parents deserve a freedom of choice, regardless of the school type,” EdChoice president Robert Enlow told The Lion. “Our traditional schools could always use more competition right now, because we have got too many failures across the board.” 

One mom, Contina Jones, told The Lion her 13-year-old son used to have “panic attacks” and “literal fear” at a public school in Jackson, Mississippi. Since switching to a charter school, he is “absolutely thriving.” 

“I feel that education should be customizable to the child and how they learn,” she said. “This case, I think it’s amazing, it’s groundbreaking, it’s a movement.” 

Another mom, Sharon Sedlar, who founded PA Families for Education Choice, said having more virtual school options can be “life-changing” for some students. “I think any advance of options for children, meeting them where they are, is really important to be able to provide.” 

Yalonda Chandler, who founded a homeschool support center in Alabama called Legacy Builders Academy, told The Lion she’s hopeful the case will be decided favorably. 

“Every parent should have the right to be able to use their taxpayer dollars to decide where their child wants to go to school without any restriction,” she said. “I believe that educational freedom with religious freedom go hand in hand.” 

A ruling in the case is expected by the end of the court’s term in June. Although several of the justices appeared sympathetic toward St. Isidore, Justice Amy Coney Barrett recused herself in the case, making the possible outcome less clear. It may come down to Chief Justice John Roberts, whose position was not made obvious during Wednesday’s arguments.