May 22, 2025 4:31 PM UTC

Split US Supreme Court blocks taxpayer-funded religious charter school

Reuters

A split U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday blocked a bid led by two Catholic dioceses to establish in Oklahoma the nation's first taxpayer-funded religious charter school in a major case involving religious rights in American education.

With conservative Justice Amy Coney Barrett recusing herself from the case, the 4-4 ruling left intact a lower court's decision that blocked the establishment of St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School. Oklahoma's top court found that the proposed school would violate the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment limits on government involvement in religion.

Barrett's decision not to participate in the case left eight justices rather than the full slate of nine to decide the outcome. Barrett did not publicly explain her recusal but she is a former professor at Notre Dame Law School, which represents the school's organizers.