St. Louis, Mo., Apr 12, 2023 / 15:30 pm
A statewide board in Oklahoma voted Tuesday to reject a proposal brought by the Oklahoma Catholic Conference to create a virtual, religious charter school, which would be the first of its kind in the nation if it is ultimately approved.
The Oklahoma Statewide Virtual Charter School Board voted unanimously on Tuesday to disapprove an application, first presented in February, to create St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School, pending revisions.
The Archdiocese of Oklahoma City, which aims to run the online school in partnership with the Diocese of Tulsa, will have the opportunity to resubmit its application after addressing the board’s concerns, and the board will have 30 days to approve or deny the revised application.
Brett Farley, executive director of the Oklahoma Catholic Conference and a board member for the proposed school, told CNA it is “more often the case than not” that the charter school board disapproves the first draft of a school’s application, instead giving the school a chance to go back and address the board’s concerns. He said the plan’s backers are “not discouraged at all” and that they have already submitted some revisions to the board.