Holtzman Vogel Files Amici Brief on Behalf of Senators in Effort to Protect Religious Liberty
Holtzman Vogel, led by Mark Pinkert, Jason Torchinsky, Andy Gould, Ed Wenger, Daniel Tilleman, and Jared Bauman, filed a Supreme Court amici brief on behalf of U.S. Senators James Lankford, Josh Hawley, Kevin Cramer, Ted Budd, and Ted Cruz. The brief urges the Court to protect Americans’ fundamental right to religious liberty and reaffirm its recent precedents, which hold a state may not exclude religious organizations from generally available public benefit programs solely because they are religious.
The State of Oklahoma’s Charter School Act allows private organizations to partner with the state to operate free charter schools. However, the law does not allow religious organizations to participate in the program. In this case, the Attorney General of Oklahoma asked the Oklahoma Supreme Court to invalidate a contract between the state's Charter School Board, the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City, and the Diocese of Tulsa to create the St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School. Although the school would have provided much-needed educational opportunities for Oklahoma families, the court invalidated the contract under the law. The court also held that St. Isidore would violate the U.S. Constitution, describing the school as a "state actor" that is not permitted to have a religious affiliation. The case is now before the U.S. Supreme Court.
In support of the Petitioners, Holtzman Vogel argues that the religious-exclusion provision of Oklahoma's law is unconstitutional because it conflicts with both the historical meaning of the First Amendment and the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decisions. As Holtzman Vogel describes, state and local governments in the United States have partnered with private-religious organizations to provide high-quality educational opportunities since before the Founding, and the First Amendment allows this practice to continue. The U.S. Supreme Court has recognized this fact in its recent decisions, which collectively hold that the First Amendment does not allow states to exclude qualified religious organizations from public programs just because they are religious.
Additionally, Holtzman Vogel argues that the Oklahoma Supreme Court's decision could undermine all partnerships between governments and private organizations that benefit American citizens. Religious institutions frequently participate in public projects beyond education, and they offer tremendous value to the people they serve. As Holtzman Vogel explains, telling religious organizations they "need not apply" to help the public is not only unconstitutional, but is also detrimental to the public good.
Holtzman Vogel is proud to advocate for religious liberty and is honored to represent esteemed members of the U.S. Senate as the Court considers this case.
