Are Religious Charter Schools Constitutional?

We the People

National Constitution Center

History, News Commentary, News

4.6 • 1K Ratings

🗓️ 1 May 2025

⏱️ 57 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

On April 30, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Oklahoma Statewide Charter School Board v. Drummond, which examines the constitutionality of religious charter schools. In this episode, Michael McConnell of Stanford Law School and Steven Green of Willamette University join Jeffrey Rosen to recap the oral arguments, debate the meaning and history of the Free Exercise and Establishment Clauses, and survey the Court’s other religion cases from this term. Resources: Fulton v. City of Philadelphia (2021) Carson v. Makin (2022) Michael McConnell and Nathan S. Chapman, Agreeing to Disagree: How the Establishment Clause Protects Religious Diversity and Freedom of Conscience (2023) Steven Green et al. Brief of Historians and Legal Scholars as Amici Curiae In Support of Respondent, Oklahoma Statewide Charter School Board v. Drummond Michael McConnell et al. Brief for Amici Curiae Religious Liberty Scholars In Support of Petitioners, Catholic Charities Bureau v. Wisconsin Labor & Industry Review Commission Michael McConnell et al. Brief for Professors Douglas Laycock, Richard W. Garnett, Thomas C. Berg, Michael W. McConnell, and David M. Smolin as Amici Curiae In Support of Petitioners, Mahmoud v. Taylor Stay Connected and Learn More Questions or comments about the show? Email us at ⁠[email protected]⁠ Continue the conversation by following us on social media @ConstitutionCtr. ⁠Sign up⁠ to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate. Follow, rate, and review wherever you listen. Join us for an upcoming ⁠live program⁠ or watch recordings on ⁠YouTube⁠. Support our important work. ⁠Donate

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	On April 30th, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Oklahoma Statewide Charter School Board
0:06.1	versus Drummond, which explores the constitutional issues raised by funding, or not funding,
0:11.9	religious charter schools.
0:16.5	Hello, friends. I'm Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center,
0:21.6	and welcome to We the People, a weekly show of constitutional debate.
0:25.7	The National Constitution Center is a nonpartisan nonprofit,
0:29.0	chartered by Congress to increase awareness and understanding of the Constitution among the American people.
0:34.7	To explore this and other religion cases recently heard by the court,
0:39.2	I'm honored to welcome two of America's greatest scholars on the history of the religion
0:43.2	clauses of the Constitution. Michael McConnell is the Richard and Francis Mallory Professor
0:48.9	and Director of the Constitutional Law Center at Stanford Law School and a senior fellow at the
0:54.1	Hoover Institution.
0:55.5	His latest book, co-authored with Nathan Chapman, is agreeing to disagree how the
1:00.7	Establishment Clause protects religious diversity and the freedom of conscience.
1:05.3	Michael, it is always wonderful to welcome you to We the People.
1:08.4	Thanks for having me back, Jeff.
1:10.4	Stephen Green is the Fred H. Paulus Professor of Law,
1:13.8	an affiliated professor of history and religious studies at Willamette University.
1:18.3	He is the author of six books.
1:20.0	The most recent is Separating Church and State, a history.
1:23.1	He wrote an amicus brief in Oklahoma Statewide Charter School Board versus Drummond.
1:27.5	Stephen, it is wonderful to welcome you to We the People.
	...

Transcript will be available on the free plan in 15 days. Upgrade to see the full transcript now.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from National Constitution Center, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of National Constitution Center and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.