The lawsuit alleges that the school’s stated mission in its application conflicts with the Oklahoma Constitution’s rules for public schools and the Oklahoma Charter Schools Act’s laws specifically for charter schools.
St. Isidore’s application stated it would hire those who are “committed to living and teaching Christ’s truth as understood by the magisterium of the Roman Catholic Church through actions and words.” The application adds it would “operate a school in harmony with faith and morals, including sexual morality, as taught and understood by the magisterium of the Catholic Church based upon holy Scripture and Sacred Tradition.”
The lawsuit claims that this mission violates the Oklahoma Charter Schools Act, which requires charter schools to be “nonsectarian in [their] programs, admission policies, employment practices, and all other operations.” It further alleges that it violates the state constitution, which states public schools shall be “free from sectarian control” and that public money cannot be used in “support of any sect, church, denomination, or system of religion.”
In addition to those complaints, the lawsuit also alleges that its policies will violate the state constitution’s prohibition on sex discrimination, which the groups interpret as including any discrimination against sexual orientation and gender identity. The lawsuit cited Catholic teachings on homosexuality and transgenderism to justify this claim.
Although the school recognized the apparent conflict with the Oklahoma Charter School Act in its application, it argued that the prohibition violates the Oklahoma Religious Freedom Act and the First Amendment of the United States Constitution. It claimed that it would not only be lawful for the board to accept a religious school but that it would also be unlawful to enforce the prohibition. The school further argued that the state constitutional provisions may not apply in this situation, but if they did, they would be in violation of the U.S. Constitution.
The school also wrote in its application process that it will comply with all applicable anti-discrimination laws but noted that religious institutions are exempt from provisions that would violate their First Amendment rights.