In Oklahoma Statewide Charter School Board v. Drummond, the Supreme Court rejected the proposal for St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School to receive direct government funding in a 4-4 split ruling on Thursday. In instances where the justices are evenly split, the lower court ruling—in this case, the Oklahoma Supreme Court—stands.

The constitutionality of religious charter schools remains an open question after the U.S. Supreme Court deadlocked, 4-4, over the St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School

Oklahoma’s Republican attorney general had argued that drastic consequences would follow if the justices sided with the school.

On Thursday, the Supreme Court came to a 4-4 tie on a case brought by Oklahoma Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters to allow taxpayer dollars to subsidize a Catholic charter school. ABC News reported that the stalemate — in which Chief Justice John Roberts sided with the Court's three Democratic-appointed justices — was made possible

The Supreme Court deadlocked 4-4 on whether to approve the nation’s first publicly funded religious charter school Thursday, leaving intact a lower ruling that voided the Oklahoma school’s

The court split 4-4, with Justice Amy Coney Barrett recusing herself from the proceedings, therefore affirming the Oklahoma Supreme Court’s ruling, which had blocked the approval of a charter for St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School because of its religious affiliation. The high court did not elaborate on the reason for its decision.

The case, a major test of the separation of church and state, was an unexpected loss for those advocating a greater role for religion in public life.

The justices announced they were split 4-4 in a test case heard last month from Oklahoma, which blocks the new Catholic charter school in the state.