A federal judge issued a preliminary injunction barring Oklahoma from excluding the National Ben Gamla Jewish Charter School Foundation from its charter program, ruling the religious bar violates the First Amendment. Charter schools receive state funds.
Oklahoma law requires charter schools to be nonsectarian. Judge David Russell said the law discriminates against otherwise eligible schools solely because of their religious character, violating the First Amendment’s Free Exercise Clause. He cited Supreme Court precedent, including a 2022 ruling for families challenging Maine’s exclusion of religious schools from tuition assistance.
The Oklahoma Statewide Charter School Board had denied Ben Gamla’s application and chose not to oppose the challenge; taxpayers and families intervened to defend the law. Ben Gamla’s lawyer said the ruling gives the foundation a fair chance to serve Oklahoma families. Lawyers for the interveners called it a dangerous change and said they would continue fighting for secular public schools open to all students. Last year, the Supreme Court split 4-4 on whether to overturn a state court ruling blocking two Catholic dioceses from establishing a publicly funded charter school; Justice Amy Coney Barrett recused herself.
