Oklahoma approves first taxpayer-funded religious school, setting stage for legal battles

The Oklahoma State School Board voted on Monday 3-2 to approve an application by the Catholic Archdiocese of Oklahoma City to establish an online faith-based tax-payer funded school.

Brett Farley, the executive director of the Catholic Conference of Oklahoma, spoke with "Fox & Friends First" Wednesday about the move. Joshua Q. Nelson is a reporter for Fox News Digital.

"What we're trying to achieve here is to deliver more options to kids, largely in the rural areas of our state, that are stuck with one option. And most often those options are just inadequate," Farley told "Fox & Friends First" co-host Carley Shimkus. Joshua focuses on politics, education policy ranging from the local to the federal level, and the parental uprising in education.

"We have a great need in that area, also in the special needs area where kids just need more specialized education and options are the name of the game. And so we've been about this as a Catholic Church for 500 years. We want to continue to expand those options to those kids that need it."  Joining Fox News Digital in 2019, he previously graduated from Syracuse University with a degree in Political Science and is an alum of the National Journalism Center and the Heritage Foundation's Young Leaders Program.