Oklahoma approves first US religious charter school.

Washington, June 5 Oklahoma approved this Monday the first religious school in concession in the United States, which will offer online classes and which will be managed by the Catholic Church, media reported.

In a vote with three support and two votes against, the state board of virtual concession schools supported the creation of the center, after rejecting it last April.

The San Isidoro de Sevilla Catholic Virtual School will be managed by the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City and the Diocese of Tulsa.

In a statement, the governor of Oklahoma, Republican Kevin Stitt, in charge of appointing the members of the state board of schools that gave its new approval to this project, “applauded” the decision of that body.

“This is a win for religious freedom and educational freedom in our great state, and these efforts encourage me to give parents more choice when it comes to their child’s education,” he said.

The school will not open before autumn 2024 and intends to offer telematic classes to students from preschool to secondary.

Local media indicated that this decision is likely to be appealed in court by its critics, who consider it a fusion of the Church with the State, which clashes with the public nature of these types of schools.

According to the country’s National Center for Education Statistics, 8% of public schools in the US are on concession.

According to data from said government center, a concession school in the US is a school financed with public funds that is managed by a group or organization under a legislative contract with the state or school district.

Said contract exempts the school from complying with some state or local regulations, with which the center has more flexibility and autonomy, in exchange for the school complying with a series of accountability standards indicated in the agreement with the authorities. EFE

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