Charter Schools and State Action: Religious Charter Schools and New Frameworks to Consider

• In Event: Legal Pathways of Discrimination

Abstract

Recent controversies involving charter schools are raising important questions about whether they are considered state actors or private entities. In June 2023, the Supreme Court declined a request to examine a case that would have addressed whether charter schools were state actors; this decision could have had a resounding impact on public education in the U.S. To illustrate, in Oklahoma, a state virtual charter school board approved an application for an online religious charter school in 2023. This is the first approved religious charter school in the nation. The legality of this charter school will likely turn on whether Oklahoma charter schools are state actors for Establishment Clause purposes. We examine these issues and prevent a new legal framework for policymakers.

Authors

• Preston C. Green, University of Connecticut

• Suzanne E. Eckes, University of Wisconsin - Madison