Summary of facts: The Archdiocese of Oklahoma City sought to open a virtual charter school, St. Isidore of Seville, to serve rural areas and underserved communities and families. The Oklahoma charter school board approved its application. Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond then sued St. Isidore and the state charter school board, seeking to block the school from opening on the grounds that the school is a state actor and since it is faith-based it violates the Establishment Clause. Moreover, the attorney general made numerous public statements to the effect that blocking St. Isidore was necessary to prevent Islamic schools from receiving state charters. The charter school board and St. Isidore argued that it is not a state actor but merely a state contractor. The Oklahoma Supreme Court sided with the attorney general. The board and the school appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, which has agreed to hear the case.

RFI’s position: The Oklahoma Attorney General evinced hostility toward religious minorities by repeatedly demeaning Islam and other minority faiths, tainting his official actions and rendering them invalid under the First Amendment.

Read the brief here.