The Oklahoma Statewide Charter School Board rejected Ben Gamla’s applications earlier this year, saying it was constrained by a previous Oklahoma Supreme Court decision.
After its rejection, the National Ben Gamla Jewish Charter School Foundation sued the board. In March, it filed a motion for a preliminary injunction. It seeks to allow the school to still open for the 2027-28 school year while the lawsuit moves through the courts.
In 2024, the Oklahoma Supreme Court struck down an application the board approved for the St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School. The case went to the U.S. Supreme Court, which tied, allowing the lower court’s ruling to stand.
Thursday, Judge David L. Russell wrote that the nonsectarian provision the St. Isidore decision relies on violates the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment because it “expressly discriminates against otherwise eligible recipients solely because of their religious character.”
Becket Law senior counsel and attorney for Ben Gamla, Daniel Chen, said in a news release that Oklahoma’s prohibition on religious charter schools was “destined to fail.”
“The Constitution doesn’t permit the state to welcome every kind of charter school except a religious one,” Chen said. “Ben Gamla now gets what it should have had from the start: a fair shot to serve Oklahoma families.”
Despite the Oklahoma Statewide Charter School Board being named as defendants in the case, its lawyers argue in favor of Ben Gamla. After an August hearing, board chair Brian Shellem told reporters that the St. Isidore decision tied the board’s hands.
Oppositional arguments instead have come from a group of Oklahoma families, teachers and clergy who filed as interveners.
The intervenors’ attorneys said in a news release the decision opens the door to a “dangerous sea change” for democracy.
“Forcing taxpayers to fund religious public schools violates state and federal law,” the statement said. “Ben Gamla will not only indoctrinate students into a particular religion — it will discriminate against families that don’t share the school’s beliefs. We will continue to fight for all Oklahomans, who deserve public schools that are secular and open to all students.”
Board attorney Hiram Sasser said no matter what the ruling is, it will likely be appealed to the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals.
“Whoever doesn’t like [the ruling] is going to appeal it to the Tenth Circuit, and so on and so forth,” Sasser said. “Frankly, probably all the way up until we break the 4-4 tie at the Supreme Court.”
This is a developing story.
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