A divided Supreme Court on Thursday blocked the creation of the nation's first religious charter school, a major loss for those advocating a greater role for religion in public life.
The court split 4-4 over whether to allow St. Isidore of Seville Virtual Charter School, keeping in place the Oklahoma Supreme Court's decision that a religious charter school would violate the Constitution’s clause aimed at keeping religion separate from government.
Justice Amy Coney Barrett did not participate in the decision, leaving the nine-member court evenly divided. Although she didn't give a reason, Barrett is close friends with the Notre Dame Law School professor who was an early legal adviser to the Catholic Church in Oklahoma, which wanted to open St. Isidore.
The court issued its one sentence decision announcing the deadlock three weeks after hearing oral arguments. The announcement did not include how each of the participating justices voted.
Because neither side had a majority, no precedent was established by its decision.
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