Controversy Continues Over Whether Texas Charter Schools Are Promoting Religion

Yesterday's San Antonio Current has a long article about the Shekinah Learning Institute, an educational organization that has created 13 publicly-funded charter schools across Texas, and particularly in the San Antonio area. Two of the schools in San Antonio, the Shekinah Radiance Academy and the Radiance Academy of Learning, received $15 million in state funds and another $2.3 million in federal funds for the 2009-2010 school year. Together they had some 2,000 students. Americans United for Separation of Church and State claims that the schools improperly promote religion. Several of the schools are located inside active churches, and two of them share the name of their host church. The head of the Shekinah Learning Institute is Cheryl Washington, who has said that God has given her dominion  to grow the Almighty's garden-- an education system-- in San Antonio. The Texas Education Association has apparently opened an investigation into Shekina's finances. The June issue of Americans United's magazine, Church & State, carries an article on the schools titled Showdown At Shekinah, as well as a second article titled Charter for Controversy that explores the issue of promotion of religion by a wide range of publicly-funded charter schools around the country.