Charter schools in Florida move to take over space in public schools - The Washington Post

A new state law offers charters rent-free access to under-enrolled buildings. Public education advocates say it could drain money from traditional public schools...

https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2025/10/17/charter-schools-florida/

Weekly Roundup: Oklahoma’s Catholic Charter School and Hegseth’s Prayer Service (Bradley Onishi and Daniel Miller; Straight White American Jesus podcast)

Dan discusses recent developments on the separation of church and state, focusing on the Oklahoma Catholic Charter School case and its split decision in the Supreme Court. He also analyzes the implications of Pete Hegseth’s Christian prayer service at the Pentagon, highlighting concerns about religious liberty and the mixing of church and state.

Additionally, the episode examines JD Vance’s criticisms of Supreme Court chief Justice John Roberts and addresses ongoing tensions between the Trump administration and the judiciary. The script also touches on Trump’s claims of white genocide in South Africa and the alleged evidence presented during a meeting with South African President Cyril Rama.

The episode concludes with reflections on populist rhetoric and the role of evidence in shaping perceived truths.
Interview: 

https://www.straightwhiteamericanjesus.com/episodes/weekly-roundup-oklahomas-catholic-charter-school-and-hegseths-prayer-service/

The Flame of Reason (Dan Barker and Annie Laurie Gaylor, Freethought Radio podcast)

Mayday! Mayday!

We listen to some of the oral arguments in a pivotal Supreme Court case heard Wednesday about whether a private Catholic charter school can be funded with public money. If allowed, this would deal a serious blow to public education.

After reporting on state/church news in Oklahoma, Louisiana and Texas, and decrying Attorney General Pam Bondi’s “Eradicating Anti-Christian Bias” Task Force, we talk with Swedish humanist Christer Sturmark, author of the book To Light the Flame of Reason: Clear Thinking for the Twenty-First Century.
Interview: 

https://ffrf.org/news/freethought-radio/freethought-today-may-1-2025/

Twenty Pennsylvania charter school workers charged with abusing students

Investigators say employees and contractors at a Pennsylvania charter school physically abused children in their care, while others witnessed the abuse and failed to report it. WCAU's Brian Sheehan reports...

https://www.nbcnews.com/video/twenty-pennsylvania-school-workers-charged-with-abusing-students-235957829973

Kentucky judge rules state charter school law is unconstitutional - The Washington Post

A judge in Kentucky struck down a 2022 state law that allows public funding for charter schools and said that it would create a "separate and unequal" system of schools that violates the state's 1891 constitution...

https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2023/12/12/kentucky-judge-rules-state-charter-school-law-is-unconstitutional/

Oklahoma’s attorney general is suing to block a taxpayer-funded Catholic charter school

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwQDRyfShL0

Taxpayer Money is Going to Fund Religious Schools (Bradley Onishi and Daniel Miller; Straight White American Jesus podcast)

Brad speaks to Rachel Laser, President and CEO of Americans United for Separation of Church and State. They discuss AU’s lawsuit with the ACLU and FFRF in the case of the state of Oklahoma agreeing to send taxpayer funds to a Catholic school. This is, in essence, an attempt to make Christian schools into public schools.

From AU: And public schools must be secular and open to all students. They are not allowed to discriminate against students or indoctrinate children into one religion.

But that is exactly what Oklahoma’s newly approved religious public charter school, St. Isidore of Seville, intends to do.

Approved by the Oklahoma Statewide Virtual Charter School Board in June 2023, St. Isidore would be a public school—entirely funded by the taxpayers of Oklahoma—even though St. Isidore makes clear in its charter school application that it intends to run the school “as a Catholic school” and a “place of evangelization.”

That’s why Americans United along with the ACLU, Freedom from Religion Foundation and Education Law Center is suing.
Interview:

https://www.straightwhiteamericanjesus.com/episodes/taxpayer-money-is-going-to-fund-religious-schools/

Oklahoma sued for funding US’s first ‘state-sponsored’ religious charter school

"Our public tax dollars should not be sent to a religious school that asserts a right to discriminate against students with disabilities. St Isidore should not be allowed to divert scarce resources away from public schools that are open to all children regardless of ability, race, sexual orientation, gender identity, or religion."…

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/aug/13/oklahoma-lawsuit-religious-public-charter-school

Supreme Court Rejects Appeal from Public Charter School Seeking Permission to Violate Students’ Constitutional Rights

In Peltier v. Charter Day School, parents and students at Charter Day School in Brunswick County, NC, challenged the "skirts only" rule for girls, which the school says it adopted based on the belief that every girl is a "fragile vessel." The school argued that, as a public charter school, it should be free to violate students' constitutional rights that other types of public schools must respect...

https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/supreme-court-rejects-appeal-from-public-charter-school-seeking-permission-to-violate-students-constitutional-rights

Weekly Roundup: Trump Indicted, Robertson Dead, + Catholic Public Schools? (Bradley Onishi and Daniel Miller; Straight White American Jesus podcast)

Brad and Dan being by discussing Trump’s indictment on federal charges. They then break down the life and death of Pat Robertson – an architect of the Religious Right and someone whose influence resounds in American Christian nationalism today, from media, to spiritual warfare, to queerphobia, and more. They finish the episode with a discussion of SCOTUS’ surprising decision to defend voting rights and Oklahoma’s move to create a Catholic public school.

Interview: 

https://www.straightwhiteamericanjesus.com/episodes/weekly-roundup-trump-indicted-robertson-dead-catholic-public-schools/

Girl chosen by Trump to symbolize failing schools attends a popular charter program - The Washington Post

Betsy DeVos gave Janiyah Davis a scholarship, but the family may not want a new school....
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/girl-chosen-by-trump-to-symbolize-failing-schools-attends-a-popular-charter-program/2020/02/09/eac22690-4b64-11ea-b721-9f4cdc90bc1c_story.html

ECOT: $2.1 million in donations to Ohio politicians, $1 billion in charter school contracts - Daily Kos

ECOT stands for the Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow. It is a charter school founded in Ohio in 2000 by businessman William Lager and is a story that hasn't received nearly enough media attention. Probably because it highlights everything that's wrong with for-profit charter school entities delivering public services. ....
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/1777984