Bloomberg Law SCOTUS Clash Over Religious Charter Schools
May 2, 2025
In this engaging discussion, First Amendment law expert Caroline Mala Corbin, a professor at the University of Miami Law School, shares insights on the Supreme Court's debate over funding for religious charter schools. Supreme Court reporter Kimberly Strawbridge Robinson dives into the heated oral arguments surrounding a case involving a disabled student and a Minnesota school district. The conversation touches on the ideological divide among justices and the complex balance between church and state in education, making for a riveting legal showdown.
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Oklahoma's Religious Charter School Case
- The case questions whether Oklahoma must fund a religious charter school, which state law currently prohibits.
- The court balances state constitutional limits on funding religious proselytization against Free Exercise rights.
Public vs Private Charter Schools Matter
- The legal distinction between public and private charter schools is pivotal to the case.
- Public charters can remain secular, but private charters must have equal access to funding under Free Exercise.
Free Exercise Over Establishment Clause
- Conservative justices prioritize the Free Exercise Clause over the Establishment Clause.
- They argue denying funds to religious schools is discrimination, despite potential church-state entanglement concerns.