Conservative U.S. Supreme Court justices signaled sympathy on Wednesday toward a bid led by two Catholic dioceses to establish in Oklahoma the nation's first taxpayer-funded religious charter school in a major test of religious rights and the separation of church and state in American education.

The Supreme Court’s conservative majority on Wednesday seemed open to backing the creation of a Catholic charter school in Oklahoma, a decision that would expand the availability of taxpayer money for religious education in school systems across the nation.