It’s become clear that one school board in Oklahoma doesn’t give a fig about the Constitution. Board members have gone right ahead and approved what would become the first publicly funded religious school in the U.S. even though the state’s attorney general warned that the decision is unconstitutional.

But who cares about a minor thing like the separation of church and state, otherwise known as the First Amendment? Apparently, folks on the Statewide Virtual Charter School Board have little use for the Constitution, having voted 3-2 to approve the application by the Catholic Archdiocese of Oklahoma, which plans to establish the St. Isidore of Seville Virtual Charter School. This online public charter school will be open to students from kindergarten through grade 12 statewide, according to KWTX10.

Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond warned the board that this decision is a clear violation of the Oklahoma Constitution.

“The approval of any publicly funded religious school is contrary to Oklahoma law and not in the best interest of taxpayers,” Drummond said in a statement after the board’s Monday vote. “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.”

Indeed, this could tie up the state’s courts and then there’s the fact that students will be indoctrinated with a religious agenda, something that is hardly appropriate for young growing minds.

That’s not how the Archdiocese of Oklahoma sees it, however. Indeed, the Archdiocese said in the “vision and purpose of the organization” section of its application that: “The Catholic school participates in the evangelizing mission of the Church and is the privileged environment in which Christian education is carried out.”

It’s the very best form of brainwashing that taxpayer money can buy.

But that’s not how Brett Farley, executive director of the Catholic Conference of Oklahoma sees it.

“We are elated that the board agreed with our argument and application for the nation’s first religious charter school.”

Americans United for Separation of Church and State had plenty of criticism for the board’s decision.

“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,” said the organization’s president and CEO Rachel Laser in a statement. “This is a sea change for American democracy. Americans United will work with our Oklahoma and national partners 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 U.S. Constitutions.”

And if you think Oklahoma’s Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt might be a critical thinker, guess again. Earlier this year he signed a bill that gives parents a tax incentive to send their kids to private schools, including those espousing religion and he’s full of praise for the board’s vote.

“This is a win for religious liberty and education freedom in our great state, and I am encouraged by these efforts to give parents more options when it comes to their child’s education,” he said in a statement.

Funny how people like Stitt call this “religious liberty” and “education freedom” when what it really is, is a form of oppression. This kind of teaching quashes critical thinking, expecting students to blindly follow that particular religion’s particular tenets. Students learn all about likely mythical stories like Noah’s Ark and the talking snake but learn little about evolution and how it really shapes our world. Topics like science and learning to think critically are swept under the rug.

It’s as if the dark ages are beginning anew.

Below we have Superintendent Ryan Walters bragging that the vote is a win for school choice and that it is the will of the people in Oklahoma to expand access to religious education. Constitution be damned.

OK Schools Superintendent is thrilled that his state just became the first to fund a private, Catholic school with taypayer dollars, since churches are being oppressed by the government. pic.twitter.com/vwGdHdLpJp

— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) June 6, 2023