Drummond v. Oklahoma Statewide Virtual Charter School Board
Description: Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond is seeking to cancel the contract the Oklahoma Statewide Virtual Charter School Board entered with St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School solely because St. Isidore is Catholic. The board members took an oath to uphold the U.S. Constitution, and the U.S. Supreme Court has repeatedly held that religious groups cannot be excluded from generally available programs solely because of their religious character.
Oklahoma Supreme Court ruling 'inconsistent' with First Amendment
The following quote may be attributed to Alliance Defending Freedom Senior Counsel Phil Sechler regarding the Oklahoma Supreme Court’s ruling Tuesday in Drummond v. Oklahoma Statewide Virtual Charter School Board directing the Statewide Virtual Charter School Board to rescind its contract with St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School “on grounds that the contract violates state and federal law”:
“Oklahoma parents and children are better off with more choices, not fewer. The U.S. Constitution protects St. Isidore’s freedom to operate according to its faith and supports the board’s decision to approve such learning options for Oklahoma families. The board knew that the First Amendment’s Free Exercise Clause prohibits state officials from denying public funding to religious schools simply because they are religious. We are disappointed with the court’s ruling that upholds discrimination against religion; we’ll be considering all legal options, including appeal.”
Justice Dana Kuehn wrote in her dissent, “I find nothing in the State or Federal Constitutions barring sectarian organizations, such as St. Isidore, from applying to operate charter schools. To the extent … the Charter Schools Act bars such organizations from even applying to operate a charter school, I would find it inconsistent with the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment.”
ADF attorneys representing the Oklahoma Statewide Virtual Charter School Board filed a brief last year with the state’s high court opposing the petition filed by Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond to cancel the contract the board entered with St. Isidore.
- Pronunciation guide: Sechler (SECK’-lur)
The ADF Center for Academic Freedom is dedicated to protecting First Amendment and related freedoms for students and faculty so that everyone can freely participate in the marketplace of ideas without fear of government censorship.
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ABOUT Philip A. Sechler
Philip A. Sechler serves as senior counsel at Alliance Defending Freedom, where he focuses on academic and religious freedom. Before joining ADF, Sechler had a long career in private practice, with substantial first-chair trial experience in courts around the country on a variety of complex litigation matters. He was also a Distinguished Visitor from Practice at Penn State Law School, where he spent four years teaching. He also taught at the Antonin Scalia School of Law at George Mason University and at the Georgetown University Law Center, where he continues to teach a course on Professional Responsibility. Sechler received his bachelor’s degree with high distinction from Pennsylvania State University, and he earned his Juris Doctor from Georgetown University Law Center, where he graduated summa cum laude and was Editor-in-Chief of The Georgetown Law Journal. Following law school, he clerked for the Honorable Francis D. Murnaghan, Jr., of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit. Sechler is admitted to practice before the District of Columbia and Virginia bars, as well as the U.S. Supreme Court and numerous federal appellate and trial courts.