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An Oklahoma school board has approved the creation of a publicly funded online Catholic school, teeing up a constitutional legal battle over whether taxpayers should foot the bill for religious schools. The nation’s first-ever religious charter school was approved by the Oklahoma Statewide Virtual Charter School Board on 5 June, authorising the St Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School to be run by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Oklahoma City and the Diocese of Tulsa – and supported by taxpayer dollars. Republican Governor Kevin Stitt, who has presided over a sweeping agenda against abortion access and transgender healthcare in the state, called the vote “a win for religious liberty and education freedom in our great state.” “Oklahomans support religious liberty for all and support an increasingly innovative educational system that expands choice,” he said in a statement. “Today, with the nation watching, our state showed that we will not stand for religious discrimination.” Americans United for Separation of Church and State, which led opposition in a recent US Supreme Court case involving whether a high school football coach can effectively force his student athletes to pray with him on the field, is preparing to take legal action in Oklahoma. “It’s hard to think of a clearer violation of the religious freedom of Oklahoma taxpayers and public-school families than the state establishing the nation’s first religious public charter school,” president and CEO Rachel Laser said in a statement. “This is a sea change for American democracy,” she added. The group and other civil rights organisations are expected “to take all possible legal action to fight this decision and defend the separation of church and state that’s promised in both the Oklahoma and US Constitutions,” Ms Laser said. Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond also warned the board a vote to support a publicly funded religious school would clearly violate the state’s Constitution and expose the state to costly litigation. “The approval of any publicly funded religious school is contrary to Oklahoma law and not in the best interest of taxpayers,” he said in a statement. “It’s extremely disappointing that board members violated their oath in order to fund religious schools with our tax dollars. In doing so, these members have exposed themselves and the state to potential legal action that could be costly.” The move from the Republican-appointed board on 5 June comes as GOP officials and right-wing institutions across the country push for taxpayer dollars to support religious schools, with a Supreme Court signalling a willingness to direct public funds towards such schools despite explicit First Amendment protections. “State and federal law are clear: Charter schools are public schools that must be secular and open to all students,” Ms Laser added. “ In a country built on the principle of separation of church and state, public schools must never be allowed to become Sunday schools.” This is a developing story Read More Tennessee drag ban is struck down by federal judge: ‘Unconstitutionally vague and substantially overbroad’ Bible banned from Utah school district for ‘vulgarity and violence’ in revenge for conservative attacks on literature Oklahoma’s Supreme Court struck down two abortion bans. But a 113-year-old law is severely restricting access

Former Harvard professor and prominent public intellectual Cornel West will mount a third party run for president, he said on Monday in a video posted on Twitter.

After the duke admitted using drugs, the US government is being sued to reveal his visa application.

The mother of slain Black woman Breonna Taylor has endorsed a grassroots campaign aimed at defeating Republican Daniel Cameron’s bid for Kentucky governor

Denver Nuggets head coach Michael Malone criticized his team's effort after they dropped Game 2 of the NBA Finals to the Miami Heat.The Denver Nuggets made it to the NBA Finals in their history, playing like they have before during Game 1 last Thursday. Behind a triple-double performance by...

President Joe Biden says the Kansas City Chiefs are “building a dynasty” as he hosts the team at the White House to mark their Super Bowl victory in February

Inter Milan and Belgium striker Romelu Lukaku says the world's top soccer stars could form a union to tackle racist abuse in the sport.

Widgets, and the beloved beagle Snoopy, are headed to your Apple Watch face. At its

ISTANBUL Qantas Airways will receive its first Airbus A321XLR in December 2024, six months later than first planned,

Before this month's U.S. Open, the PGA Tour will head North of the Border for the Canadian Open.This year, it's set to be hosted at Oakdale Golf & Country Club in Toronto. It's the first year that this course has hosted a PGA Tour event, so we have no course history to bas...

An employee at Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence drained the resort's swimming pool last October and ended up flooding a room where computer servers containing surveillance video logs were kept, sources familiar with the matter told CNN.

A new Resurgence map called Vondel, developed by Beenox, is coming to Warzone 2 Season 4 with 12 POIs on June 14.