July 31 (Reuters) - The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed a lawsuit on Monday on behalf of Oklahoma residents asking a state judge to block the creation of the nation's first religious public charter school. Oklahoma's Statewide Virtual Charter School Board, one of the defendants in the suit, in June approved the Catholic Church's application to create the St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School, which would use millions of dollars in taxpayer funds to operate. Rebecca Wilkinson, the executive director of the statewide virtual charter school board, said in an email that the agency would not comment on pending litigation. Charter schools are publicly funded and independently run under the terms of a charter with a local or national authority. Listed as plaintiffs in the lawsuit challenging St. Isidore are nine Oklahoma residents and the Oklahoma Parent Legislative Action Committee.

---

Persons: Isidore of, Isidore, Brett Farley, Farley, Ryan Walters, Walters, St, Rebecca Wilkinson, Gentner Drummond, Brad Brooks, Donna Bryson, Bill Berkrot, Deepa Babington Organizations: American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU, Charter School Board, Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School, Catholic Conference of Oklahoma, U.S, Supreme, Republican, Oklahoma, Catholic, Catholic Archdiocese of, Catholic Archdiocese of Oklahoma City, University of Notre Dame, The ACLU, Americans United, and State, Education Law Center, Religion Foundation, Thomson Locations: Isidore of Seville, Oklahoma, U.S ., Maine and Montana, St, Catholic Archdiocese of Oklahoma, Indiana, Lubbock , Texas