Attorney General Alan Wilson leads eight-state coalition fighting to protect First Amendment rights

(COLUMBIA, S.C.) – South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson filed a “friend of the court” brief with the U.S. Supreme Court today arguing in favor of religious liberty and school choice. Attorney General Wilson is leading the brief, which has been joined by seven other states.

An Oklahoma Catholic virtual school was awarded a charter school contract by that state’s Charter School Board. The State of Oklahoma then sued to challenge that contract, arguing that charter schools are public schools and that awarding a charter school contract to a religious school violates the Constitution’s Establishment Clause. The Oklahoma Supreme Court agreed and required the Charter School Board to rescind its contract. Federal courts around the country take different positions on this issue, so the Charter School Board and the Catholic virtual charter school are asking the Supreme Court to make a final decision.

“The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled before that states can contract with private organizations to provide education without the schools becoming state actors and violating the Establish Clause,” Attorney General Wilson said. “The Supreme Court has also said that the government cannot require religious groups to abandon their religion in order to be eligible for government contracts. Religious liberty is far too precious to be trampled upon.”

This is an unusual case because state attorneys general are arguing against the constitutionality of another state’s laws, but the outcome could affect all states, and these attorneys general are fighting to protect constitutional rights.

In the brief, the attorneys general argue, “The Oklahoma Supreme Court turned the Establishment Clause on its head. Rather than raise the Establishment Clause to shield religious observers from a state’s religious mandate, the Oklahoma Supreme Court weaponized it to single out and exclude religious observers from eligibility for a public benefit. And the religious observers’ Free Exercise rights were casualties of that exercise.”

They’re asking the U.S. Supreme Court to grant the Catholic virtual charter school’s petition to reaffirm religious liberty protections for religious schools.

Joining Attorney General Wilson are the attorneys general from Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Montana, Nebraska, Texas, and Utah.

You can read the brief here.