Nina Rees, President and CEO of the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, released the following statement in support of the recently filed lawsuit alleging state law and state constitutional violations stemming from the Oklahoma Statewide Virtual Charter School Board’s approval of the Catholic Archdiocese of Oklahoma City’s application to open the nation’s first religious public charter school:
“When the Oklahoma Virtual Charter School Board authorized this school, they set in motion a chain of events that must be challenged. As alleged in the complaint, the Board’s approval runs afoul of state law and the state constitution. All charter schools are public schools and, as such, must not teach religion or promote a particular faith. Charter schools were conceived as, and have always been, innovative public schools that provide an alternative for families who want a public school option other than the one dictated by their ZIP code.
“We support this lawsuit because it fights to preserve the public nature of these unique schools and protect the constitutional rights of the students and teachers who choose them. The Archdiocese of Oklahoma City is trying to make charter schools into something they are not.”
