The U.S. Supreme Court has left in place an Oklahoma Supreme Court ruling blocking the nation’s first religious public charter school, after the justices split 4-4 in a closely watched case involving the intersection of public education and religious freedom. Justice Amy Coney Barrett recused herself from the decision, resulting in the tie that affirmed the lower court’s judgment.

The dispute centered on St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual Charter School, a proposed online institution backed by the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City and the Diocese of Tulsa. Approved by the Oklahoma Statewide Charter School Board in 2023, St. Isidore would have been the first explicitly religious charter school in the United States, openly integrating Catholic doctrine and mission into its curriculum.

Oklahoma’s Attorney General Gentner Drummond challenged the charter, arguing that state law and constitutional provisions require public charter schools to remain nonsectarian. The Oklahoma Supreme Court agreed, ruling that allowing a religious public school would violate both state and federal prohibitions on government establishment of religion. The state’s highest court emphasized that public funds cannot be used for religious instruction, a principle rooted in the First Amendment.

After the Oklahoma Supreme Court’s decision, the school and the charter board appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, seeking to overturn the ruling. However, the nation’s highest court issued a brief, unsigned order affirming the state court’s judgment by an equally divided vote. The decision does not set a national precedent but leaves the Oklahoma ruling intact and binding within the state.

Justice Barrett did not participate in the case, likely due to her longstanding ties to Notre Dame Law School, whose religious liberty clinic represented the school, and her personal relationship with one of the school’s advocates.

Because the Supreme Court’s decision was a tie, it does not create binding precedent outside Oklahoma. The question of whether religious organizations can operate publicly funded charter schools may return to the Supreme Court in the future, should a similar case arise in another state or with a full bench of justices.

For now, the ruling ensures that Oklahoma’s charter schools must remain secular, reaffirming the constitutional barrier between public education and religious instruction within the state.