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‘Bad for parents’: School choice supporters protest exclusion of religious charter in Supreme Court case
Dozens of school choice advocates gathered outside the Supreme Court Wednesday as justices weighed whether public funds could go directly to religious charter schools.
The protesters rallied and held signs that said «all students, all options, all dollars» and «free to learn,» as they advocated for expanded access to alternatives to traditional public schools, especially for students who struggle in those settings.
The case, St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School v. Drummond, challenges a ruling by the Oklahoma Supreme Court that struck down a contract establishing St. Isidore – a publicly funded, Catholic online school – as a violation of state and federal law. Now before the U.S. Supreme Court, advocates argue that excluding religious schools from state-run charter programs amounts to unconstitutional discrimination.
«The court has time and time again said that the Free Exercise Clause demands that the government treat religious and secular organizations the same, and that’s not what happened here. The state excluded St. Isidore simply because of its religious character, that’s wrong and bad for parents,» said Kate Anderson, an attorney at ADF working on the case.
LIBERAL SUPREME COURT JUSTICES GRILL RELIGIOUS INSTITUTION IN LANDMARK SCHOOL CHOICE CASE
School choice advocates rally outside the Supreme Court building on Wednesday, April 30. (Fox News Digital )
For students like Contina Jones’ son, public schools are not always a good fit. «He was very sad, very emotional every day, he was overstimulated, teachers were in and out, and I needed something that was able to cater to how my son learns,» said Jones, a Mississippi resident who joined the crowd outside the court. «Every child, regardless of zip code, should be able to go to a school that is for them for their families.»
The justices are being asked to weigh whether a religious charter school is entitled to the same treatment and funding as a secular one – a question that could redefine how states draw the line between church and state in public education.
«Charter schools are not public schools in the same way as traditional ones,» said Thomas Fisher, executive vice president of EdChoice. «They’re designed to have curricula other than what public schools provide. The First Amendment protects their free exercise and doesn’t prohibit them from exercising their religion.»
At issue is whether the school should be considered a public school – which have largely been considered as extensions of the state government, and required to be nonreligious under the Establishment Clause – or whether it should be considered private entities or contractors.
Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond, a Republican who is running for governor, filed the lawsuit against the school, stating that the establishment of St. Isidore would violate both the Oklahoma Constitution and the Establishment Clause of the U.S. Constitution. Public funds should not be used to support religious institutions, he emphasized, asserting that such a move could set a dangerous precedent for government endorsement of religion.
SUPREME COURT TO HEAR ARGUMENTS ON SCHOOL CHOICE CASE INVOLVING CATHOLIC CHARTER SCHOOL
Supporters of St. Isidore hold signs outside the Supreme Court. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
The Oklahoma Supreme Court agreed with Drummond’s assessment, ruling that charter schools are public entities and must remain nonsectarian. The court’s decision highlighted concerns that approving St. Isidore as a religious charter school could lead to state-sponsored religious indoctrination, undermining the neutrality of public education.
«The key here is that this school is its own school. This school is not a state school – it’s a charter school. It has the ability to set its own curriculum,» added John Tidwell, Oklahoma state director of Americans for Prosperity.
He called the case a «great test to see what the opportunity is for similar schools all across the country.»
«We’re really excited by this opportunity.»
Erika Donalds, chair of America First Policy Institute’s Center for Education Opportunity, echoed the sentiment, framing the case as a potential expansion of «the free market of education.»
Rev. Shannon Fleck of Faithful America speaks as Rev. Paul Brandeis Raushenbush of Interfaith Alliance listens during a news conference outside the Supreme Court on April 30, 2025. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
«St. Isidore is just one example of many high-quality options that are out there that could be chartered for families,» Donalds said. «The Supreme Court has struck down discrimination against religious institutions in other contexts. If they can offer high-quality education, families should be able to access those options with public funds.»
Donalds emphasized that the choice remains with families. «Parents are not required to choose a religiously affiliated charter school, but they should have the option to do so — so long as financial and academic accountability measures are met.»
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She also pointed to bipartisan support for school choice nationwide.
«We’ve seen polling that shows 70% of Republicans, nearly 70% of Democrats, and Independents all support school choice. This movement has momentum, and it’s not going to stop.»
The court’s ruling, expected by the end of June, could have sweeping implications for charter school policy and religious liberty jurisprudence across the country, and comes at a time when 45 U.S. states currently authorize charter schools.
Fox News’ Breanne Deppisch contributed to this report.
High School,US Education,Education Controversies,Supreme Court Oral Arguments,Supreme Court
Mexican leaders want US help against cartels
Mexican Senator Lilly Téllez joins ‘Fox & Friends Weekend’ to discuss growing tensions between President Trump and Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro as the U.S. boosts its military presence in the region to target drug boats and cartels.
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FIRST ON FOX: President Donald Trump will host a roundtable at the White House Thursday afternoon with law enforcement and administration officials to discuss the successes of the Homeland Security Task Forces, which the president established on his first day in office to snuff out threats from criminal cartels in the U.S.
«The President’s Homeland Security Task Forces are a landmark achievement that highlight what the federal government can achieve with a leader like President Trump who is willing to slash red tape, increase coordination and put the safety of the American people first,» White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson told Fox News Digital of the event.
«In a short period of time, the Trump Administration has removed lethal drugs, illegal weapons, dangerous foreign terrorists and cartel members from American communities,» she added. «The American people are safer today because of the HSTFs — and they’re just getting started.»
Trump established the creation of Homeland Security Task Forces Jan. 20 — his first day back in office — via executive order, «Protecting the American People from Invasion.» The executive order directed Attorney General Pam Bondi and Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem to establish such task forces in each state as part of the administration’s efforts to thwart cartels and human trafficking networks operating on U.S. soil.
WAR DEPARTMENT LAUNCHES NEW COUNTER-NARCOTICS TASK FORCE UNDER TRUMP DIRECTIVE TO CRUSH CARTELS
President Donald Trump is slated to hold a roundtable with administration officials to discuss updates on the Homeland Security Task Forces. ( Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
The executive order specifically directed the task forces to «end the presence of criminal cartels, foreign gangs, and transnational criminal organizations throughout the United States, dismantle cross-border human smuggling and trafficking networks, end the scourge of human smuggling and trafficking, with a particular focus on such offenses involving children, and ensure the use of all available law enforcement tools to faithfully execute the immigration laws of the United States.»
On Thursday, administration officials will join Trump to provide updates on the task forces’ efforts.
The roundtable will be joined by Deputy Chief of Staff and Homeland Security Advisor Stephen Miller, Noem, Bondi, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, FBI Director Kash Patel and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, Fox News Digital learned.
TRUMP SENDS MILITARY AFTER THE CARTELS AND IT’S LONG OVERDUE
A January executive order directed Attorney General Pam Bondi, here, and Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem to establish such task forces in each state as part of the administration’s efforts to thwart cartels and human trafficking networks operating on U.S. soil. (Yuri Gripas/Abaca/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Fox News Digital learned that the task forces nationwide became fully operational at the end of August and have yielded thousands of arrests, and the removal of dangerous drugs and illegal firearms from U.S. streets.
BONDI SAYS HUMAN SMUGGLING IS ‘GETTING PEOPLE KILLED’ ACROSS US AS SHE ANNOUNCES CRACKDOWN
More than 3,000 foreign terrorists and cartel members were arrested as part of the task forces’ operations, including members of notoriously dangerous gangs such as the Sinaloa Cartel, MS-13 and Cartel Jalisco Nuevo Genaracion, Fox News Digital learned.
President Donald Trump will host a roundtable at the White House Oct. 23, 2025, with law enforcement and administration officials, like Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. (Mark Schiefelbein/The Associated Press)
The task forces also have recovered two million fentanyl pills and seven tons of other deadly narcotics, seized $3 million in currency and removed more than 1,000 illegal guns from U.S. communities.
Trump campaigned, in part, on removing violent illegal immigrants and crime from U.S. communities, spotlighting the efforts in his address before Congress back in March 2025.
«The territory to the immediate south of our border is now dominated entirely by criminal cartels that murder, rape, torture and exercise total control. They have total control over a whole nation. posing a grave threat to our national security,» Trump said at the time. «The cartels are waging war in America, and it’s time for America to wage war on the cartels.»
The roundtable comes as the U.S. military carries out strikes on suspected drug cartel vessels in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific. The strikes began in September and are part of Trump’s broader effort to dismantle transnational cartels by force.
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Trump held a similar roundtable at the White House earlier in October, inviting independent journalists who have experienced Antifa’s violence firsthand to speak about their experiences as the administration targets the left-wing group’s protests outside immigration facilities and recently designating it a «domestic terrorist organization.»
donald trump,white house,border security,homeland security,immigration
Amiram Cooper. Foto: AP 
Fotografía cedida por la embajada de Israel en Berlín que muestra al soldado israelí Hadar Goldin. Foto: EFE
Hoy se confirmó que Lior Rudaeff, israelí-argentino de 61 años, fue asesinado el 7 de octubre por los terroristas de Hamás. Su cuerpo fue secuestrado y sigue en GazaINTERNACIONAL
Maine Dem Senate hopeful backed by Bernie Sanders apologizes for Nazi-style tattoo, vows to stay in race
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Maine Democrat Graham Platner, a first-time Senate candidate backed by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., says he has covered up a tattoo widely recognized as a Nazi symbol after critics unearthed old social media posts and demanded he quit the race.
Platner’s campaign is facing intense scrutiny after it was revealed he once had a skull-and-crossbones tattoo resembling the Totenkopf used by Hitler’s SS paramilitary forces.
Platner said he got the tattoo in 2007 during a «night of drinking» while on leave in Croatia in the Marine Corps and claimed he did not know its historical associations at the time. He has since covered the image with another tattoo.
DELETED POSTS URGING VIOLENCE HAUNT DEMOCRATIC SENATE HOPEFUL IN MAINE RACE
In a video posted to Instagram Wednesday afternoon, Platner elaborated that the design was chosen from a flash tattoo wall while «carousing» with fellow Marines in Split, Croatia.
«We thought it looked cool,» he said.
He claimed he had «lived a life dedicated to anti-fascism, anti-racism and anti-Nazism» and was «appalled» to learn it resembled a hate symbol.
Graham Platner, a Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in Maine, points to a covered tattoo that had previously been an image recognized as a Nazi symbol, during an interview Wednesday in Portland, Maine. (WGME via AP)
Platner said he had never been questioned about the tattoo during his service and passed Army background checks.
He told The Associated Press he chose to cover rather than remove the tattoo due to a lack of removal services near his home in rural Maine.
«Going to a tattoo removal place is going to take a while,» Platner said. «I wanted this thing off my body.»
In the video, Platner said he had the symbol inked over with a Celtic knot and imagery of dogs, a tribute to his family pets.
«This far more represents who I am now than even the skull and crossbones did,» he said, lifting his shirt to reveal the new tattoo.
REPUBLICAN LAWMAKER DIRECTS INVESTIGATION AFTER SWASTIKA VANDALISM DISCOVERED IN DC OFFICE
U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner, D-Maine, speaks at a town hall at the Franco Center Oct. 15, in Lewiston, Maine. (Libby Kenny/Sun Journal via AP)
The controversy comes on the heels of deleted Reddit posts in which Platner appeared to mock military sexual assault victims, criticize police and make racially-charged comments about tipping.
Platner since apologized and blamed the posts on depression and PTSD after his military service in Afghanistan. He has vowed to stay in the race and has the backing of Sanders.
Jordan Wood, a Democratic rival in the primary and former chief of staff to Rep. Katie Porter, is calling on Platner to drop out.
«Graham Platner’s Reddit comments and Nazi SS Totenkopf tattoo are disqualifying and not who we are as Mainers or as Democrats,» Wood said in a statement. «With Donald Trump and his sycophants demonizing Americans, spewing hate and running roughshod over the Constitution, Democrats need to be able to condemn Trump’s actions with moral clarity. Graham Platner no longer can.»
Platner said he believes the controversy is part of his life story, not disqualifying.
U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner, D-Maine, acknowledges a large crowd during a town hall Sept. 25, in Portland, Maine. (Daryn Slover/Portland Press Herald via AP)
«I don’t look at this as a liability. I look at this as a life that I have lived, a journey that has been difficult, that has been full of struggle, that has also gotten me to where I am today,» Platner told the AP. «And I’m very proud of who I am.»
He blamed «establishment» forces for amplifying the backlash to derail his campaign.
«Every second we spend talking about a tattoo I got in the Marine Corps is a second we don’t talk about Medicare for all,» Platner said in the video.
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He is running in a packed Democratic primary against Wood and two-term Gov. Janet Mills.
GOP Sen. Susan Collins, who has held the seat for three decades, has not yet commented on the controversy.
Sanders and Collins did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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