The Supreme Court split evenly Thursday in a high-profile challenge over the nation’s first religious charter school, leaving in place a ruling from Oklahoma’s top court that found the proposed Catholic school unconstitutional.

The one-sentence notice from the court provides an unsatisfying end to one of the term’s most closely watched cases.

The Supreme Court's justices blocked the creation of the nation's first religious charter school on May 22, reigniting ongoing debates about the separation of church and state in the United States. The justices' split 4-4 decision meant a lower court ruling would stand.