The US supreme court on Thursday blocked a bid led by two Catholic dioceses to establish in Oklahoma the nation’s first taxpayer-funded religious charter school in a major case involving religious rights in American education.

The 4-4 ruling left intact a lower court’s decision that blocked the establishment of St Isidore of Seville Catholic virtual school. The lower court found that the proposed school would violate the US constitution’s first amendment limits on government involvement in religion.

Conservative justice Amy Coney Barrett recused herself from the case, leaving eight justices rather than the full slate of nine to decide the outcome. Barrett is a former professor at Notre Dame Law School, which represents the school’s organizers.

When the supreme court is evenly divided, the lower court’s decision stands. The justices did not provide a rationale for their action in the unsigned ruling.

One piece of hope in a world gone crazy.