What would have been the nation’s first-ever religious charter school will not be allowed to open after the Supreme Court deadlocked in what is being described as a major First Amendment case. 

The Supreme Court’s 4-4 ruling Thursday means that the Oklahoma supreme court’s decision blocking the creation of St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School will remain in force. 

Justice Amy Coney Barrett recused herself from the case but did not explain why. NBC News notes that the decision could have been due to her connection to Notre Dame Law School, whose religious liberty clinic was representing St. Isidore. 

After the Supreme Court’s ruling, the Republican attorney general of Oklahoma, Genter Drummond, posted on X, “The Supreme Court has ruled in favor of my position that we should not allow taxpayer funding of radical Islamic schools here in Oklahoma. I am proud to have fought against this potential cancer in our state, and I will continue upholding the law, protecting our Christian values and defending religious liberty.”

Mr. Drummond previously said that allowing for the creation of St. Isidore would lead to charter schools being established that taught Sharia law. 

The case divided top Republican officials in the state. The school enjoyed the support of the governor of Oklahoma, Kevin Stitt, who said in a statement about the decision, “This 4-4 tie is a non-decision. Now we’re in overtime. There will be another case just like this one and Justice Barrett will break the tie. This is far from a settled issue. We are going to keep fighting for parents’ rights to instill their values in children and against religious discrimination.”

The Oklahoma State Virtual Charter School Board voted to approve the school’s charter in 2023. Mr. Drummond sued to block the school’s creation, saying it “violated the religious liberty of every Oklahoman.”

Mr. Drummond previously told the Sun, “This case is not about excluding a religious entity from government aid, but rather the State’s unconstitutional creation of a religious public school, which constitutes an establishment of religion.”

At the center of the case was the question of whether St. Isidore should be considered a government entity bound by the Constitution’s Establishment Clause — the prohibition on the establishment of a religion or an institution created and run by a private entity that has a contract with the state but does not have the same limitations. 

Attorneys for St. Isidore argued that the planned school would not have been a “state actor” because the plan for it was developed by the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City and the Diocese of Tulsa, not the state. It also would have employed private individuals as opposed to state employees, and it would have been operated as a private entity.

Critics of St. Isidore said that because the school would not have been created without the state’s approval of its charter, it should be considered a government entity subject to the Establishment Clause. However, an attorney representing the school, Phil Sechler, argued that the mere act of the government approving a charter to allow an entity to operate does not make it part of the government. He noted that other entities, such as banks, require government approval but are not considered state actors. 

The Oklahoma supreme court ruled in June 2024 that St. Isidore violated the Establishment Clause of the U.S. Constitution. Writing for the majority, Justice James Winchester said the school “will be acting as a surrogate of the state in providing free public education as any other state-sponsored charter school,” in violation of state and federal laws.