Overview
- After Tennessee’s attorney general issued an opinion finding the state’s ban on religious charter schools likely unconstitutional, the Wilberforce Academy of Knoxville filed a federal suit challenging the prohibition and local policies.
- Wilberforce proposes a publicly funded charter with a Christian mission open to all students without required religious affirmation, a model disqualified under current Tennessee law.
- In Oklahoma, organizers tied to the rejected St. Isidore application are advancing a Ben Gamla Jewish charter proposal, a move described in reporting as a deliberate test case rather than a community-driven plan.
- The Supreme Court’s 4–4 split in May 2025 left in place an Oklahoma ruling barring a Catholic virtual charter and set no national precedent on whether religious charters can receive public funds.
- At stake are unresolved questions about whether charter schools are state actors and whether the Free Exercise Clause protects religious participation or the Establishment Clause bars it, with observers warning a pro-religious ruling could require states to fund sectarian charters and raise civil-rights concerns.