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public schools
Split Supreme Court Won't Allow First Religious Public Charter School in US
Although another case could soon come before the high court, the ACLU still welcomed that, for now, "public schools must remain secular and welcome all students, regardless of faith."
May 22, 2025
Public education and First Amendment advocates on Thursday celebrated the U.S. Supreme Court's refusal to allow the nation's first religious public charter school in Oklahoma—even though the outcome of this case doesn't rule out the possibility of another attempt to establish such an institution.
"Requiring states to allow religious public schools would dismantle religious freedom and public education as we know it," Cecillia Wang, national legal director of the ACLU, said in a statement about the 4-4 decison. "Today, a core American constitutional value remains in place: Public schools must remain secular and welcome all students, regardless of faith."
Wang's group and other partners had filed a lawsuit over St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School on behalf of parents, faith leaders, and public school advocates. Her colleague Daniel Mach, director of the ACLU's Program on Freedom of Religion and Belief, declared Thursday that "the very idea of a religious public school is a constitutional oxymoron."
The new one-page opinion states that "the judgment is affirmed by an equally divided court," which means the Oklahoma Supreme Court's June 2024 ruling against St. Isidore remains in place. There are nine members of the U.S. Supreme Court, but Justice Amy Coney Barrett—who is part of its right-wing supermajority—recused herself from this case.
"While Justice Barrett did not provide an explanation for her recusal, it may be because she is close friends with Nicole Stelle Garnett, a professor at Notre Dame Law School who was an early adviser for St. Isidore," The New York Timesnoted. "Although justices sometimes provide reasons when they recuse themselves, they are not required to do so."
Law Dork's Chris Geidner warned that "a new challenge not requiring her recusal could easily return to the court in short order—especially now that the court has shown its interest in taking on the issue."
In this case, as Common Dreams reported during oral arguments last month, Chief Justice John Roberts appeared to be the deciding vote. Geidner pointed out Thursday that while it seems most likely that he sided with the three liberals, "even that could have been as much of a vote to put off a decision as a substantive ruling on the matter."
Some groups happy with the outcome in this case also highlighted that the battle is expected to continue.
"This is a crucial, if narrow, win for constitutional principles," Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) co-president Annie Laurie Gaylor said in a statement. "A publicly funded religious charter school would have obliterated the wall of separation between state and church. We're relieved that, at least for now, the First Amendment still means what it says."
"The fight isn't over," Gaylor added. "The forces trying to undermine our public schools and constitutional freedoms are already regrouping. FFRF will continue to defend secular education and the rights of all Americans to be free from government-imposed religion."
Leading teachers unions also weighed in with both an amicus brief submitted to the high court and Thursday statements.
"Educators and parents know that student success depends on more resources in our public schools, not less. Yet for too long, we have seen anti-public education forces attempt to deprive public school students of necessary funding and support," National Education Association president Becky Pringle said Thursday. "We are gratified that the Supreme Court did not take the radical step of upending public education by requiring states to have religious charter schools."
American Federation of Teachers president Randi Weingarten also welcomed that the high court on Thursday let stand the Oklahoma decision, "which correctly upheld the separation of church and state and backed the founders' intention to place religious pluralism over sectarianism."
"We are grateful that it upheld the state's highest court's clear and unambiguous ruling to preserve and nurture the roots of our democracy, not tear up its very foundations," Weingarten said in a statement. "We respect and honor religious education. It should be separate from public schooling."
"Public schools, including public charter schools, are funded by taxpayer dollars because they are dedicated to helping all—not just some—children have a shot at success," she stressed. "They are the bedrock of our democracy, and states have long worked to ensure that they remain secular, open, and accessible to all."
This article has been updated with comment from the National Education Association.
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'No More Cuts': Colorado Teachers Rally for Quality Education
"We must take action to protect funding for education in Colorado to ensure that the budget is no longer balanced off the backs of students," the state's largest teachers' union said.
Mar 20, 2025
Thousands of teachers and allies rallied at the Colorado State Capitol in Denver Thursday to demand that officials stop diverting money meant for public education to balance the state's budget.
Led by the Colorado Education Association (CEA), the state's largest teachers union, protesters wore crimson T-shirts reading "#RedForEd," a nationwide campaign for quality public education. Demonstrators chanted slogans including, "You left us no choice, we have to use our teacher voice!" and held placards with messages including "No More Cuts" and "Fund the Future."
CEA president Kevin Vick toldChalkbeat Colorado that "we feel like we've done our time. We simply are at our limit and we can't absorb any more losses."
"Districts are operating at such a thin margin that if there is significant losses in revenue at this point, it's going to mean a lot of teachers lost," Vick added. "It's going to mean a lot of schools closing."
Thousands of teachers, parents, students, and educators at the state capitol today asking Governor Polis to properly fund education. Colorado consistently ranks below average on education funding.
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— Allen Cowgill (@allencowgill.bsky.social) March 20, 2025 at 1:01 PM
Rob Gould, president of the Denver Classroom Teacher's Association, toldKMGH that "our teachers are tired of always—and every year—balancing the budget on the backs of our students."
Many Colorado school districts canceled classes for the day due to the high number teachers who said they would miss work to attend the protest. The Colorado Sunreported that around two-thirds of schools in Denver, the state's largest district, were closed Thursday.
Rally participants demanded that state lawmakers and Democratic Colorado Gov. Jared Polis preserve education funding jin the face of a $1.2 billion budget shortfall for next fiscal year. This could complicate a promise by Polis and lawmakers to stop using a mechanism called a budget stabilization factor—often derisively dubbed the "B.S. factor"—to divert funding from public schools to cover other budget items. Colorado state lawmakers are now considering allocating less money than promised to school districts in order to address the projected deficit.
Huge crowd of teachers, students and community (including my 1st grade kiddo) rallying at the Colorado State Capitol right now for the statewide day of action to protect public education. It’s time to get rid of TABOR and fully fund our public schools! #coleg #copolitics
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— Lauren Gifford 🌱🌎🌲 (@laurengifford.bsky.social) March 20, 2025 at 11:34 AM
According toColorado Public Radio:
Last year, state lawmakers voted to fully fund Colorado schools by no longer withholding funding from schools and diverting it to other departments. In January, two studies commissioned by lawmakers concluded that full funding—$9.8 billion this year—isn't enough. The studies said Colorado needs to spend $3.5 billion to $4.1 billion more per year to adequately fund its public schools.
But two months later, it's clear that doing so will be impossible in the short term and could mean asking voters for more money in the long term. A coalition of education advocacy groups say lawmakers' current struggles and the history of K-12 spending in the state illustrate why Colorado needs to discuss a long-term solution to increase revenue for school funding.
"Colorado students and educators are already being asked to do more with less every year—and now lawmakers are considering even more cuts to public education," CEA said in a statement promoting Thursday's rally. "Despite being one of the wealthiest states in the country, Colorado chronically underfunds its public schools by $4,000 to $4,500 per student per year compared to the national average."
"Now, facing a budget shortfall of over $1 billion, we must take action to protect funding for education in Colorado to ensure that the budget is no longer balanced off the backs of students across all four corners of the state," the union added. "Let's be clear: A cut is a cut, and students pay the price."
Thursday's rally came as U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing Education Secretary Linda McMahon to "take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure of the Department of Education and return education authority to the states."
Joan Marcano, whose two daughters attend a Denver elementary school that was closed for the day, said he backs the protesters.
"I support the teachers," he told KMGH. "These are the people who take care of my daughters every day."
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Teachers Say 'See You In Court' as Trump Tries to Abolish Department of Education
"We won't be silent as anti-public education politicians try to steal opportunities from our students, our families, and our communities to pay for tax cuts for billionaires," said the head of the nation's largest labor union.
Mar 20, 2025
Update:
U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday afternoon directing Education Secretary Linda McMahon to begin the process of shutting down the Department of Education.
"Hopefully she will be our last secretary of education," Trump said of McMahon, promising to "find something else" for the billionaire businesswoman to do.
Sunrise Movement, the youth-led climate campaign, responded to Trump's move by announcing a Friday "study-in" outside Department of Education headquarters in Washington, D.C.
BREAKING: Students announce a "Study-In" at the Department of Education. If Trump and Musk want to abolish the Department of Education and destroy our futures, they'll have to go through us. Join us tomorrow starting at 10am.
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— Sunrise Movement (@sunrisemvmt.bsky.social) March 20, 2025 at 12:50 PM
Earlier:
As U.S. President Donald Trump prepares to sign an executive order Thursday directing officials to shut down the Department of Education, Democratic politicians, teachers and communities across the nation are vowing legal and other challenges to the move.
Trump is set to check off a longtime Republican wish list item by signing a directive ordering Education Secretary Linda McMahon to "take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure of the Department of Education and return education authority to the states."
Shutting down the department—which was created in 1979 to ensure equitable access to public education and employs more than 4,000 people—will require an act of Congress, both houses of which are controlled by Republicans.
"Trump and his Cabinet of billionaires are trying to destroy the Department of Education so they can privatize more schools."
Thursday's expected order follows the department's announcement earlier this month that it would fire half of its workforce. U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and more than three dozen Democratic senators condemned the move and Trump's impending Department of Education shutdown as "a national disgrace."
Abolishing the Department of Education is one of the top goals of Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation-led roadmap for a far-right takeover and gutting of the federal government closely linked to Trump, despite his unconvincing efforts to distance himself from the highly controversial plan.
U.S. Sen. Tina Smith (D-Minn.) called Trump's bid to abolish the Department of Education "more bullshit" and vowed to fight the president's "illegal behavior until the cows come home."
Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) said on social media: "Trump and his Cabinet of billionaires are trying to destroy the Department of Education so they can privatize more schools. The result: making it even harder to ensure that ALL students have access to a quality education. Another outrageous, illegal scam. We will fight this."
New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin, a Democrat,
warned that "ending the U.S. Department of Education will decimate our education system and devastate families across the country."
"Support for students with special needs and those in rural and urban schools will be gone," he added. "We will stop at nothing to protect N.J. and fight this reckless action."
Becky Pringle, president of the National Education Association (NEA)—the nation's largest labor union—said in a statement Thursday that "Donald Trump and Elon Musk have aimed their wrecking ball at public schools and the futures of the 50 million students in rural, suburban, and urban communities across America, by dismantling public education to pay for tax handouts for billionaires."
Musk—the de facto head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)—is the world's richest person. Trump and McMahon are also billionaires.
"If successful, Trump's continued actions will hurt all students by sending class sizes soaring, cutting job training programs, making higher education more expensive and out of reach for middle-class families, taking away special education services for students with disabilities, and gutting student civil rights protections," Pringle warned.
"This morning, in hundreds of communities across the nation, thousands of families, educators, students, and community leaders joined together outside of neighborhood public schools to rally against taking away resources and support for our students," she continued. "And, we are just getting started. Every day we are growing our movement to protect our students and public schools."
"We won't be silent as anti-public education politicians try to steal opportunities from our students, our families, and our communities to pay for tax cuts for billionaires," Pringle added. "Together with parents and allies, we will continue to organize, advocate, and mobilize so that all students have well-resourced schools that allow every student to grow into their full brilliance."
The ACLU is circulating a petition calling on Congress to "save the Department of Education."
"The Department of Education has an enormous effect on the day-to-day lives of students across the country," the petition states. "They are tasked with protecting civil rights on campus and ensuring that every student—regardless of where they live; their family's income; or their race, sex, gender identity, or disability—has equal access to education."
Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers,
responded to Trump's looming order in four words: "See you in court."
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