19thnews
Nadra Nittle
Education reporter
Published
Republish this story
Republish this story
One of the most awaited Supreme Court rulings of the year ended in a deadlocked decision that led to triumph for supporters of church-state separation in schools.
On Thursday, the court split 4-4 over a bid to let Oklahoma use taxpayer funds to open what would have been the United States’ first religious public charter school — St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual Charter School.
Justice Amy Coney Barrett, the sole woman represented in the court’s conservative supermajority, did not deliberate in the case. She recused herself, reportedly because she is a good friend of a Notre Dame Law School professor who served as an adviser to the charter school. St. Isidore would have created a Catholic-centri