Religious charters are out -- for now -- but choice is expanding

Oklahoma will not authorize a Catholic charter school. The U.S. Supreme Court deadlocked 4-4 on the case, reports Erica Meltzer on Chalkbeat. An Oklahoma Supreme Court decision that blocked the opening of the proposed school stands.

St. Isidore of Seville

However, the tie vote sets no precedent. Justice Amy Coney Barrett recused herself because she's a close friend of the one of advocates for St. Isidore of Seville Virtual Catholic Charter School.

Many charter school advocates are celebrating, she writes. "They had feared a ruling in favor of the proposed religious charter school would upend charter laws in dozens of states and potentially lead to new restrictions on the sector." If states that allow charters can't discriminate against religious schools, they might stop allowing any charters.

"Supporters of St. Isidore had argued that charter schools, which are publicly funded but independently run, are more like private entities that contract with the government," she writes. "Not allowing for explicitly religious charter schools would amount to religious discrimination, they said."

"A decision for St. Isidore would have been a political mess," tweets Fordham's Michael Petrilli. "Especially in blue states, the teachers unions and other charter opponents would have tried to use the decision to kill, or at least strangle, all charter schools. And we don't really NEED religious charter schools in red states, where there are ESA and voucher programs."

School choice is expanding rapidly. A majority of parents nationwide now have the ability to use tax funds for the school, learning pod or homeschool of their choice.

Congress is likely to pass a bill that includes tax-credit scholarships, Petrilli predicts. It "will encourage taxpayers to donate funds to scholarship granting organizations, which can then provide scholarships to kids anywhere," including in big blue cities. "And THAT is going to be great for Catholic schools serving low-income and working-class kids, a mission they have long excelled at."