Press Release  AG Campbell Issues Statement on Supreme Court Decision in Oklahoma Statewide Charter School Board v. Drummond

BOSTON — Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell issued the following statement in response to today’s ruling of the U.S. Supreme Court in Oklahoma Statewide Charter School Board v. Drummond, rejecting the creation of the nation’s first publicly funded religious charter school:  

           “This is the right result. The First Amendment does not require taxpayer funding of religious schools. I hope that in future cases the Supreme Court can state that simple, fundamental principle more clearly than today’s 4-4 split allowed,” said Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell. 

In April, AG Campbell joined a coalition of 17 attorneys general in filing an amicus brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court to reach this decision and uphold the ruling from the Oklahoma Supreme Court. The case centers on St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School (St. Isidore), which the Oklahoma Statewide Charter School Board approved in 2023 to operate as a public charter school with a religious mission. In 2024, the Oklahoma Supreme Court struck down that decision, finding it violated state law and both the state and federal constitutions.   

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