Article By Michael Gryboski
A group seeking to create a Jewish charter school in Oklahoma has filed a lawsuit against state officials over the recent denial of its application.
The National Ben Gamla Jewish Charter School Foundation filed the complaint Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma.
Defendants named in the suit include Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond and members of the Oklahoma Statewide Charter School Board.
The suit alleges that by refusing to allow religious entities like Ben Gamla to oversee charter schools, Oklahoma is violating the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
“Plaintiffs’ Jewish beliefs and identity are their motivation for seeking to own and operate a publicly funded charter school. Offering education from a Jewish perspective is a core part of their religious exercise,” reads the lawsuit.
“The exclusion of Plaintiffs is not narrowly tailored to achieve any government interest. … Plaintiffs have suffered, are suffering, and will suffer irreparable harm and other forms of harm absent relief.”
The foundation is represented in part by the Becket Fund, a Washington, D.C.-based law firm that has won religious liberty cases at the U.S. Supreme Court.
“Attorney General Drummond can’t blacklist schools for being religious while welcoming everyone else with open arms,” said Eric Baxter, senior counsel at Becket and attorney for Ben Gamla, in a statement Tuesday.
“That kind of religious hostility is unlawful, unjust, and utterly at odds with decades of Supreme Court precedent. We’re going to court to vindicate Ben Gamla’s right to equal treatment under the law.”
Last December, Ben Gamla submitted an application to form a Jewish charter school in Oklahoma. The foundation already runs four nonreligious charter schools in Florida.
The Oklahoma Statewide Charter School Board voted against the application in February, with Ben Gamla founder Peter Deutsch vowing at the time to appeal the decision.
A coalition of progressive groups — including Americans United for Separation of Church and State, the American Civil Liberties Union, Education Law Center, Freedom From Religion Foundation and Oklahoma Appleseed Center for Law and Justice — applauded the decision.
The advocacy organizations sent a letter to the state school board ahead of the vote, urging members to reject the application on state and federal constitutional grounds.
“By refusing to approve what would have been the nation’s first religious public school, the Oklahoma Statewide Charter School Board is protecting Oklahomans’ religious freedom, public education, and church-state separation,” the groups said in a joint statement.
“We’re proud to be part of a large and diverse group of Oklahomans and people nationwide who are committed to defending America’s secular public education system.”
In June 2023, the Oklahoma Statewide Virtual Charter School Board voted 3-2 to approve the creation of St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School, which would have been overseen by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Oklahoma City and the Catholic Diocese of Tulsa.
However, Drummond sued the board in October 2023, and a coalition of liberal groups filed a lawsuit in July 2023. The Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled 7-1 against St. Isidore in June 2024, with the majority concluding that it violated the state constitution.
In May 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a brief 4-4 per curiam opinion affirming the Oklahoma Supreme Court ruling against the establishment of St. Isidore. Justice Amy Coney Barrett recused herself due to reported personal ties to a professor who was an early adviser to St. Isidore.
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