Federal judge rules Oklahoma can't ban Jewish charter school over religion
A district court has ruled that Oklahoma officials cannot require a proposed Jewish charter school to be non-religious.
Earlier this year, the National Ben Gamla Jewish Charter School Foundation sued various members of the Oklahoma Statewide Charter School Board over their rejecting the creation of a Jewish charter school.
U.S. District Judge David Russell of the Western District of Oklahoma issued an order on Thursday granting a preliminary injunction preventing the charter school board from implementing a rule requiring that state charter schools be nonsectarian.
“Plaintiffs argue that Ben Gamla’s exclusion from the charter school program on the basis of its religious character violates their rights under the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment,” wrote Russell. “A long line of Supreme Court precedent supports Plaintiff’s position.”
“Because the nonsectarian provision in the Oklahoma Charter Schools Act expressly discriminates against otherwise eligible recipients solely because of their religious character, it violates the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment.”
Russell also rejected the argument that the charter has to be non-religious because it has been labeled public education, writing that “simply labeling something as ‘public’ does not necessarily mean that it is created, operated, or controlled by the government.”
“Sooner or later, Oklahoma’s discriminatory bar on religious charter schools was destined to fail,” said Daniel Chen, senior counsel at Becket Law and attorney for Ben Gamla, in a statement. “The Constitution doesn’t permit the state to welcome every kind of charter school except a religious one. Ben Gamla now gets what it should have had from the start: a fair shot to serve Oklahoma families.”
Ben Gamla submitted an application last December to launch a Jewish charter school in Oklahoma. The foundation already oversees non-religious charter schools in Florida.
In February, the Oklahoma Statewide Charter School Board voted to reject the application, with Ben Gamla's founder, Peter Deutsch, saying at the time that he would challenge the decision.
A coalition of progressive groups, including Americans United for Separation of Church and State, the American Civil Liberties Union, the Education Law Center, the Freedom From Religion Foundation, and the Oklahoma Appleseed Center for Law and Justice, supported the decision.
The advocacy organizations sent a letter to the state charter school board ahead of their vote, urging members to reject Ben Gamla's 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,” they 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 March, Ben Gamla filed a complaint against the charter school board and Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond over the decision, accusing them of religious discrimination.
“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,” read the suit.
“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.”
