Oklahoma

Oklahoma Attorney General Sues To Stop Nation’s First Religious Charter School

Published

8 months ago

October 21, 2023

Oklahoma Attorney General Sues To Stop Nation’s First Religious Charter School

FILE – Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond stands during the playing of the national anthem … [+] at the inauguration ceremonies, Jan. 9, 2023, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki, File)

Attorney General Gentner Drummond has fought every step of the way against the movement to create the nation’s first taxpayer-funded religious charter school, and he’s not giving up yet.

Last December, Oklahoma’s former Attorney General John O’Connor issued an opinion stating that in light of recent Supreme Court decisions, he believes that the SCOTUS would “very likely” find unconstitutional the state requirement that charter schools be non-sectarian. The Catholic Church was ready to test that theory; it was in anticipation of their application that the state’s virtual charter board asked the O’Connor for an opinion in the first place.

The Archdiocese of Oklahoma City collaborated with the Diocese of Tulsa to propose a virtual charter—St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School, named for a sixth-century catholic bishop and scholar, who is patron saint of the internet (a “saint who can help us find what we need as well as protect us from the darker side of the World Wide Web”).

There was no question of the church’s intent. An AP report noted, “Archdiocese officials have been unequivocal that the school will promote the Catholic faith and operate according to church doctrine, including its views on sexual orientation and gender identity.”

AG John O’Connor was a Trump nominee for a United States district judge in 2018; the American Bar Association rated him “not qualified,” and his nomination was withdrawn. After Oklahoma’s previous attorney general resigned in May of 2021 over “personal matters,” Governor Stitt appointed O’Connor to the office. O’Connor ran for the office this year and was defeated in the primary, making him a lame duck in the office.

The Republican who defeated him was Gentner Drummond. Once in office, Drummond said he was out to “right the direction of the state” and started undoing some of his predecessor’s work. He dropped a lawsuit against Class Wallet that blamed them for mishandling public funds, and he reversed the AG opinion about the legality of a religious charter school.

Drummond argued that the O’Connor opinion “misuses the concept of religious liberty by employing it as a means to justify state-funded religion. If allowed to remain in force, I fear the opinion will be used as a basis for taxpayer-funded religious schools.”

Drummond warned of a “slippery slope.” The virtual charter review board ignored him and approved St. Isidore anyway.

Governor Stitt hailed it as “a win for religious liberty and education freedom in our great state.”

Drummond called the decision “contrary to Oklahoma law and not in the best interests of taxpayers.” Furthermore, “It’s extremely disappointing that board members violated their oath in order to fund religious schools with our tax dollars. In doing so, these members have exposed themselves and the state to potential legal action that could be costly.”

A group of parents, faith leaders and educators filed a lawsuit shortly thereafter. The Rev. Lori Walke, senior minister at Mayflower Congregational Church in Oklahoma City and one of the plaintiffs in the case, said, “Creating a religious public charter school is not religious freedom… when we entangle religious schools to the government … we endanger religious freedom for all of us.” That lawsuit has not yet been resolved.

But now Drummond has joined the legal fray. He has sued the virtual charter board as well as members of the statewide charter board.

His position remains consistent. “There is no religious freedom in compelling Oklahomans to fund religions that may violate their own deeply held beliefs,” Drummond said. “The framers of the U.S. Constitution and those who drafted Oklahoma’s Constitution clearly understood how best to protect religious freedom: by preventing the State from sponsoring any religion at all.”

The lawsuit itself minces no words.

The Oklahoma Attorney General is compelled, as chief law officer of the State, to file this original action to repudiate the Oklahoma Statewide Virtual Charter School Board’s (“the Board”) Members’ intentional violation of their oath of office and disregard for the clear and unambiguous provisions of the Oklahoma Constitution

The suit seeks “to undo the unlawful sponsorship” of St. Isidore’s. The suit says that the AG “is duty bound to file this original action to protect religious liberty and prevent the type of state- funded religion that Oklahoma’s constitutional framers and the founders of our country sought to prevent.”

Make no mistake, if the Catholic Church were permitted to have a public virtual charter school, a reckoning will follow in which this State will be faced with the unprecedented quandary of processing requests to directly fund all petitioning sectarian groups…For example, this reckoning will require the State to permit extreme sects of the Muslim faith to establish a taxpayer funded public charter school teaching Sharia Law. Consequently, absent the intervention of this Court, the Board members’ shortsighted votes in violation of their oath of office and the law will pave the way for a proliferation of the direct public funding of religious schools whose tenets are diametrically opposed by most Oklahomans.

In sum, despite the clear and unambiguous language of Oklahoma’s Constitution and statutes, the will of Oklahoma’s voters who soundly rejected amending Oklahoma’s Constitution in 2016 to allow public money to be applied to sectarian organizations, and the legal advice by the chief law officer of this State, the Board members violated their plain legal duty to deny sponsorship of St. Isidore. Accordingly, this Court must remediate the Board’s unlawful action.

Drummond’s argument relies heavily on the claim that this charter is a violation of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. That’s a telling position to stake out, as the Supreme Court’s decisions that figured in O’Connor’s opinion rest on setting the Free Exercise Clause as having greater weight than the Establishment Clause.

Amanda Marcotte has argued that supporters of the religious charter are hoping for a showdown between Drummond’s argument and the Supreme Court that could knock another brick out of the wall between church and state. If so, they now have two chances to get their wish.

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Oklahoma

Federal judge grants preliminary injunction halting controversial Oklahoma immigration law

Published

5 hours ago

July 1, 2024

Press Room

Federal judge grants preliminary injunction halting controversial Oklahoma immigration law

OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) — On Friday, a federal judge granted a preliminary injunction that puts a pause on House Bill 4156, a controversial law enabling Oklahoma law enforcement to arrest individuals on the basis of immigration status.

The new law, which was scheduled to go into effect on July 1, has been met with opposition from many different organizations, including The Oklahoma Association of Chiefs of Police and Metro Law Enforcement Agency Leaders, and state legislators.

On May 15, the U.S. Department of Justice sent a letter to Governor Kevin Stitt and Attorney General Gentner Drummond, threatening legal action if HB 4156 was enforced.

Drummond sent a letter in response, reaffirming the state’s intention to enforce the immigration law. As a result, the DOJ filed a lawsuit against the state on May 21.

“Oklahoma may have understandable frustrations with the problems caused by illegal immigration…but the State may not pursue policies that undermine federal law.’ Arizona, 567 U.S. at 416. Should more explicit guidance foreclose that conclusion, this Court will listen,” the conclusion of the preliminary injunction order says.

Drummond issued a statement on Friday afternoon expressing his disappointment in the ruling.

“While today’s court ruling is disappointing, I will not stop fighting for Oklahoma and our right to protect our borders,” Drummond said. “The Biden Administration’s complete failure to enforce federal immigration laws made House Bill 4156 a necessity. We intend to appeal today’s decision and defend one of the most powerful tools we have to fight the criminal activity largely being fueled by illegal aliens in Oklahoma.”

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Oklahoma

OSU Basketball: JUCO Transfer CJ Smith Announces Commitment to Oklahoma State

Published

13 hours ago

June 30, 2024

Press Room

OSU Basketball: JUCO Transfer CJ Smith Announces Commitment to Oklahoma State

On Saturday night, former Putnam City North (OK) standout CJ Smith announced his commitment to Oklahoma State.

First and foremost, I want to thank God for guiding me throughout this process ! I would also like to thank Coach Lutz and Coach Page for giving me this opportunity. With that being said I will be continuing my basketball journey at Oklahoma State University! #Gopokes 🤠… pic.twitter.com/fkj8shNPke
— CJ Smith (@ImCjsmith) June 30, 2024

After finishing his career with the Panthers in 2023, Smith spent the 2023-24 season at Coffeyville Community College in Coffeyville, KS. In his lone year at the junior college level, Smith played in 30 games, making 21 starts while logging 23.4 minutes per game.

The Putnam City North product averaged 8.3 points and 4.6 rebounds per game while shooting 40.5% from the floor and 30.8% from 3-point range as a true freshman. Smith scored a season-high 16 points against Seward County Community College in February, getting to the free throw line 13 times to help lead the Red Ravens to a 90-79 victory.

Smith followed up the aforementioned performance with a 14-point outing against Barton Community College that saw the athletic wing shoot 4-of-7 from the field, 1-of-2 from beyond the arc and 5-of-6 from the free throw line.

The former Team Griffin EYBL standout knocked down multiple 3-pointers in five different games as a true freshman, four of which came in an eight-game span.

Listed at 6-foot-7 and 195 pounds, Smith is a good athlete and has great size and length on the wing. The Oklahoma City native’s combination of size, length and athleticism gives him the potential to become a solid defender a the Division I level.

Additionally, there is a chance that Smith improves as a shooter under the tutelage of Steve Lutz and company in Stillwater.

If Smith is able to develop into a decent shooter and defender, he could eventually serve an important role for the Cowboys as a “3&D” wing.

Want to join the discussion? Like AllPokes on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to stay up to date on all the latest Cowboys news. You can also meet the team behind the coverage.

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Oklahoma

Bye to the Big 12 and hello SEC: It's party time for Texas and Oklahoma

Published

20 hours ago

June 30, 2024

Press Room

Bye to the Big 12 and hello SEC: It's party time for Texas and Oklahoma

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Bye-bye Big 12, hello SEC. Texas and Oklahoma are finally making their long-awaited conference switch.

But first, it’s time to party with Bevo (the longhorn) and Pitbull (the human).

The three-years-in-the-making switch to the Southeastern Conference for two programs that were co-founders of the Big 12 in 1996 officially happens Monday.

And for their move to a league where “It Just Means More,” Texas and Oklahoma have scheduled big campus celebrations Sunday and Monday with carnivals, live music and fireworks. Oklahoma’s even stretches to events statewide.

The SEC Network planned live programming from both campuses over the two days, and Longhorns and Sooners fans had their first chance to buy SEC-branded school merchandise.

“This is a day we have been building toward for years,” Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte said.

It’s a moment college sports in general has been building toward in the era of major realignment. The Texas and Oklahoma break from the Big 12 helped trigger myriad conference shifts with more on the way. By the first kickoff of the 2024 season, 11 so-called Power 4 programs will be in new conferences.

The Big Ten will grow to 18 teams with USC, UCLA, Oregon and Washington poached from the Pac-12. The beleaguered West Coast league also lost Arizona, Colorado, Utah and Arizona State to the Big 12, and California and Stanford to the Atlantic Coast Conference. SMU leaps from the American Athletic Conference to the ACC on Monday as well.

As for Oklahoma and Texas, they originally planned to join the SEC in 2025, but ultimately reached a financial deal with the Big 12 for an early exit. And they leave with a whole lot of hardware.

Between them, the Sooners (14) and Longhorns (four) won 18 Big 12 football titles in 25 years, with Texas winning the crown last season for the first time since 2009.

In its final year in the league, Texas won 15 league regular season or tournament championships across all sports, and national titles in volleyball and rowing. Oklahoma capped its final season with its dominant softball program winning its fourth consecutive national title in May. The Sooners beat Texas in the final.

“Texas brings more tradition, more talent, more passion and more fight,” to the SEC, the school said on its athletics website.

All that winning will be much more difficult to duplicate in the SEC. Oklahoma opens its first SEC football schedule at home against Tennessee on Sept. 21. The Longhorns debut at Mississippi State on Sept. 28.

Since the start of the College Football Playoff in 2014, SEC schools have won the championship six times.

Texas (2005) and Oklahoma (2000) were the only two schools to win national titles in football while in the Big 12.

Some traditional rivalries will be stitched back together, and some torn apart.

The Texas-Texas A&M rivalry is reborn. It had been on hiatus since A&M left the Big 12 for the SEC in 2012. Oklahoma’s Bedlam rivalry with Oklahoma State is ruptured.

Texas spiced things up with Texas A&M last week when it poached Aggies baseball coach Jim Schlossnagle to Austin. At his introductory news conference, Schlossnagle warned Longhorns fans that the SEC is the “major leagues” of college baseball. The league has won the past five national championships.

Texas and Oklahoma planned for thousands of fans to join their celebrations.

Texas set up a central campus carnival. Fans will get autograph sessions with team coaches, and a chance to pose with the Bevo longhorn mascot for photos in the afternoon.

Sunday night includes a scheduled concert by “Mr. Worldwide” pop star Pitbull on a stage underneath the campus’ iconic clock tower.

Oklahoma’s celebration started Sunday night with a “Race to the SEC” 5k race through the heart of campus, with midnight sales of SEC merchandise and fireworks.

Monday morning, former Sooners coach Barry Switzer will co-host a celebration breakfast in Tulsa and Oklahoma will host a campus party at the football stadium with live music and entertainment.

“We couldn’t be more excited to join the SEC. Our teams are poised for success and look forward to the competition with many of America’s most outstanding universities,” Oklahoma athletic director Joe Castiglione said.