Steven Singer reports that a Christian Academy in Pittsburgh has applied to become a charter school. That would permit the school to collect public money, which is not possible as a religious school.
Under Pennsylvania law, religious schools cannot be funded with public money.
What an idea to declare the school to be a charter school!
Singer writes:
It’s awfully convenient that a school whose mission statement currently includes “We share Christ with our children daily and seek to help them grow into mature Christians” would somehow magically become secular overnight.
If Imani’s charter is approved, it would be required to discontinue any religious component in its curriculum. The state school code requires even charter schools to be “nonsectarian in all operations.” The proposed academy would not be permitted to display any religious objects or symbols on the premises.
Yet one wonders who will check to make sure this actually happens.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Catholic schools converting to charter schools is not a new phenomenon.
Seven schools in Washington, DC made the switch in 2008:
https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=94680744
It’s also happened in Indianapolis and Miami:
https://www.redefinedonline.org/2014/04/catholic-schools-become-charter-schools/
And there’s even a how-to manual, based on the DC experiences:
Click to access Seton_DC_Case_Study_FINAL_r.pdf
In 2017, CityFund and Walton heirs gave money to Georgetown University (Jesuit) to create a program for the collaboration between D.C. charter school managers and public school leaders. IMO, the program may fit into a plan to legitimize charter schools as part of the public school common good, which they are not. Paul Weyrich’s training manual (he founded the Koch’s ALEC and Heritage Foundation and the religious right) calls for parallel schools as a plan to destroy public schools. (The training manual is posted at Theocracy Watch.)
The involvement of St. Louis University (Jesuit) in ed privatization seems likely after billionaire privatizer, Rex Sinquefield, gave the school a bundle of money for an ed center. And, it appears New Orleans’ Loyola (Jesuit) has links to Wilson and Lusher charter schools. The last remaining public school in N.O. closed recently.
All 3 universities took money from the social Darwinist Koch brothers. One of the colleges has a professor who is a subject of the UnKochMyCampus.org’s investigative paper, “Advancing White Supremacy through Academic Strategy” . A second sold its slaves in the 1800’s to avoid bankruptcy. And the third, recently
dismantled a statue that was viewed as depicting White supremacy.
The NAACP, SPLC, ACLU and BLM are all on record about the threat charter schools pose to the nation.
The author of this how-to-manual on converting a catholic school to a charter school is none other than Andy Smarick is a Distinguished Visiting Fellow at the Thomas B. Fordham Institute and an Adjunct Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.
Previously, he served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Planning, Evaluation, and Policy Development at the U.S. Department of Education, where he helped manage the Department’s research, budget, and policy functions.
Smarick has served at the White House on the Domestic Policy Council, working primarily on K-12 and higher education issues. Other prior positions include: Chief Operating Officer for the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, legislative assistant to a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, and aide to members of the Maryland state legislature.
His articles have appeared in the Washington Post, Baltimore Sun, National Review Online, Education Next, and other outlets. He is a former White House Fellow and earned a bachelor’s and master’s degree from the University of Maryland.
Beware of The Thomas B. Fordham Institute and American Enterprise Institute. Both institutes support political insiders who love to see public funds support religious schools.
Maryland is where Fordham’s Chester Finn sits on the state school board. At the board site, he is absurdly described as a “public servant”. That descriptor contrasts with what the NonPartisan Education Review alleges.