AG Mayes asks US Supreme Court to rule against creation of state-sponsored religious charter schools

Attorney General Kris Mayes released a joint brief on Monday, along with 17 additional attorneys general, urging the Supreme Court to vote against the “creation of a taxpayer-funded religious charter school.”

The program, which originated out of Oklahoma, could have crucial national implications when it comes to the separation of religion and education. Arizona has long remained at the bottom of the public education totem pole in national rankings, but tends to perform highly when considered for “school choice,” or financial accessibility to charter and private education statewide.

Although charter schools receive ample state funding in Arizona, they do not have to follow the same regulations and guidelines as typical public schools. Access to privatized education in the state is driven by voucher programs that require minimal evidence of need and are widely funded by taxpayer dollars. This has resulted in the state subsidizing a growing number of private religious schools.

Charter schools, however, are required to teach religion only from a historical or literary perspective and cannot force religious instruction on students.  That could change if the Supreme Court sides with the proposed charter in  Oklahoma, which would run as a Catholic public school.

This decision, Mayes said in the statement, could flip the charter school system on its head.

“Charter schools are not private schools – they are public schools,” the attorney general said. “Allowing religious charter schools would force states to choose between violating the Constitution or dismantling their public charter systems.”

This decision as a whole could affect how religious institutions are funded, placing constitutional secularity into question.