Group Challenges Courthouse Religious Display

WASHINGTON, D.C. – In a major victory for religious freedom and public education, the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed an Oklahoma Supreme Court ruling that blocked approval of the nation’s first religious public charter school. Today’s ruling reinforces the First Amendment’s fundamental principle that religion and government must remain separate. “The very idea of a religious public school is a constitutional oxymoron,” said Daniel Mach, director of the ACLU’s Program on Freedom of Religion and Belief. “The Supreme Court’s ruling affirms that a religious school can’t be a public school and a public school can’t be religious.” In 2023, the Oklahoma Virtual Charter School Board approved the application of St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual Charter School, even though the school claimed a right to impose Catholic doctrine on students and to discriminate in admissions, discipline, and employment in violation of state and federal law. The ACLU, along with Americans United for Separation of Church and State, the Education Law Center, and Freedom From Religion Foundation filed suit on behalf of parents, faith leaders, and public-school advocates. And last year, in a separate lawsuit brought by the Oklahoma Attorney General, the Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled that the state’s approval of the religious public school was unconstitutional. In April, the ACLU and allies filed a Supreme Court amicus brief in that case, explaining that the Oklahoma Supreme Court correctly ruled that charter schools are public schools and, as governmental entities, must abide by state and federal constitutional protections. “Requiring states to allow religious public schools would dismantle religious freedom and public education as we know it,” said Cecillia Wang, national legal director of the ACLU. “Today, a core American constitutional value remains in place: Public schools must remain secular and welcome all students, regardless of faith.”

OKLAHOMA CITY – Today, the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) filed a motion to dismiss a lawsuit against it by the Oklahoma State Department of Education (OSDE). FFRF sent letters to public schools in Oklahoma objecting to religious activities, prompting State Superintendent Ryan Walters and the Oklahoma Department of Education to file a “SLAPP” suit seeking to punish its constitutionally protected speech. The state’s Department of Education has failed to identify any actual violation of law. “We are proud of the work we are doing to protect the rights of conscience of public school children in Oklahoma,” said Annie Laurie Gaylor, FFRF co-president. “This frivolous lawsuit by Ryan Walters seeks to silence FFRF, and we are not going to allow that to happen.” FFRF is represented by the American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Oklahoma. This “Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation” (SLAPP) seeks to chill the free speech and petition rights of FFRF. SLAPP suits are used to weaponize the legal system to punish and silence constitutionally protected speech. “Advocacy organizations have the right to criticize government policy and push for change,” said Megan Lambert, legal director of the ACLU of Oklahoma. “This lawsuit is just another in a long line of political stunts by OSDE as it seeks to silence and punish dissent. We will vigorously defend FFRF’s First Amendment rights against the Department’s abuse of the legal process.” “Our client has not violated any law by speaking out against religious activities in Oklahoma public schools,” said Vera Eidelman, senior staff attorney with the ACLU’s Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project. “This lawsuit has one goal: to chill our client’s ability to petition the government. This is an abusive legal tactic intended to punish people and organizations for speaking out and fighting back against government policies.” The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma. The motion can be viewed online here.

WASHINGTON — The American Civil Liberties Union and ACLU of Maryland filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court today in Mahmoud v. Taylor, urging the court to reject a challenge to a Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) policy barring opt-outs from its inclusive English Language Arts (ELA) curriculum. Through children’s literature, the ELA curriculum acquaints students with a diversity of viewpoints and people in their community, including LGBTQ peers and their families. The brief argues that, because the “no opt-out” policy is religion-neutral and applies regardless of the reason for objection, the policy should not be analyzed under a “strict scrutiny” legal standard and should instead be subject to a more lenient “rational basis” review, which is easily satisfied in the case. Although MCPS previously allowed opt-outs for any reason from portions of the ELA curriculum featuring storybooks with LGBTQ characters and themes, the growing number of opt-outs proved be disruptive and divisive. Teachers were forced to divert time and resources to create alternative lessons for students who opted out, and many students simply did not attend school at all for the day. In addition, the opt-outs stigmatized LGBTQ students and those with LGBTQ family members. As a result, MCPS properly barred all ELA opt-outs, preventing further disruption to the classroom environment and the educational mission of the ELA curriculum. The decision prompted a group of parents to sue, asserting a violation of their rights under the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment and other constitutional provisions. “Religious liberty is fundamentally important, but it doesn’t force public schools to exempt students from secular lessons that don’t align with their families’ religious views,” said Daniel Mach, director of the ACLU’s Program on Freedom of Religion and Belief. “Mandating opt-outs would wreak havoc on public schools, tying their hands on basic curricular decisions, stoking divisiveness and disruption, and undermining a core purpose of public education — to prepare students to live in our pluralistic society.” “In a time of ever-increasing polarization in our country, exemptions that would require schools to allow children to refuse exposure to materials and curriculum about people from various backgrounds is divisive and harmful,” said Deborah Jeon, legal director for the ACLU of Maryland. “Our education system should be one that embraces differences as an opportunity to foster understanding and bring people together. Anything else would send ripples of censorship across the country, negatively impacting countless communities and children who deserve a balanced education.”

WASHINGTON, D.C. – A group of Oklahoma faith leaders, public education advocates, and public-school parents – who are among the plaintiffs in a lawsuit to stop Oklahoma’s creation of the nation’s first religious public charter school – today urged the U.S. Supreme Court to protect religious freedom and public education by affirming that charter schools are public schools that must be secular and open to all students. In an amicus brief filed today in Oklahoma Statewide Charter School Board v. Drummond, the group explained that the Oklahoma Supreme Court correctly ruled last year that Oklahoma’s charter schools are public schools and, as governmental entities, must abide by the U.S. Constitution’s protections for religious freedom and church-state separation. Therefore, the proposed St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School, which intends to indoctrinate students in one religion, cannot operate as a public charter school. The amici, which include OKPLAC (the Oklahoma Parent Legislative Advocacy Coalition) and eight Oklahoman taxpayers, are plaintiffs in OKPLAC v. Oklahoma Statewide Charter School Board, a separate lawsuit in Oklahoma state court challenging the charter school board’s approval of St. Isidore’s application to become a public school. That case is on hold while the case before the U.S. Supreme Court is being resolved. The plaintiffs in OKPLAC are represented by Americans United for Separation of Church and State, the American Civil Liberties Union, Education Law Center, and Freedom From Religion Foundation, with support from Oklahoma-based counsel Odom & Sparks PLLC and J. Douglas Mann. The organizations issued the following statement: “The law is clear: Charter schools are public schools and must be secular and open to all students. The Oklahoma Supreme Court correctly found that the state’s approval of a religious public charter school was unlawful and unconstitutional. We urge the U.S. Supreme Court to affirm that ruling and safeguard public education, church-state separation, and religious freedom for all. “Oklahoma taxpayers, including our clients, should not be forced to fund a religious public school that plans to indoctrinate students into one religion and discriminate against students and staff. Converting public schools into Sunday schools would be a dangerous sea change for our democracy.” In addition to OKPLAC, today’s amicus brief was filed on behalf of Melissa Abdo, Krystal Bonsall, Brenda Lené, Michele Medley, Dr. Bruce Prescott, the Rev. Dr. Mitch Randall, the Rev. Dr. Lori Walke and Erika Wright. The team of attorneys that represents the amici is led by Alex J. Luchenitser of Americans United and includes Luke Anderson of Americans United; Daniel Mach and Heather L. Weaver of the ACLU; Robert Kim, Jessica Levin and Wendy Lecker of Education Law Center; Patrick Elliott of FFRF; Benjamin H. Odom, John H. Sparks, Michael W. Ridgeway, and Lisa M. Mason of Odom & Sparks; and J. Douglas Mann.