Drummond v. Oklahoma Statewide Virtual Charter School Board

On January 8, the Liberty Justice Center and the Jewish Coalition for Religious Liberty jointly filed an amicus brief with the Oklahoma Supreme Court in defense of the nation’s first-ever religious charter school in Drummond v. Oklahoma Statewide Virtual Charter School Board. Their amicus brief argues that the Oklahoma Attorney General’s opposition to the charter school is motivated by animus against minority religions, which violates the First Amendment.

On November 8, after the Oklahoma Supreme Court dismissed the case, the Liberty Justice Center filed an amicus brief in the U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of an interfaith coalition composed of the Jewish Coalition for Religious Liberty, the Religious Freedom Institute’s Islam and Religious Freedom Action Team, and the Abraham Knowledge Academy. The brief urges the Court to overturn the Oklahoma Supreme Court’s ruling prohibiting religious organizations from operating charter schools in the state.

“Government officials cannot deny opportunities to citizens because they don’t approve of their religious beliefs,” said Dean McGee, Senior Counsel for Educational Freedom at the Liberty Justice Center. “The Attorney General’s actions also impose on parents’ rights to guide their children’s education. Whether that education is religious or secular, public or private, it should never be threatened by the religious animosity of state officials.”