A federal judge in Oklahoma has cleared the way for a Jewish organization to establish the nation's first taxpayer-funded religious charter school. US District Judge David Russell issued a preliminary injunction blocking the state from excluding the National Ben Gamla Jewish Charter School Foundation from Oklahoma's charter program, citing violations of the First Amendment's free exercise clause.
The ruling challenges the separation of church and state in public education, potentially paving the way for taxpayer-funded religious schools nationwide and raising questions about the establishment clause of the First Amendment.
A federal judge in Oklahoma has ruled that the state must allow a Jewish organization to establish the nation's first taxpayer-funded religious charter school, a decision that could have significant implications for religious rights in American education. US District Judge David Russell issued a preliminary injunction on Thursday, blocking the state from enforcing its law that requires charter schools to be nonsectarian.
Russell stated that the restriction explicitly discriminates against eligible schools solely because of their religious character, violating the First Amendment's free exercise clause. He cited a long line of Supreme Court precedent supporting this position, including a 2022 ruling that reduced the separation between church and state by siding with Christian families challenging a tuition program that excluded private religious schools.
The ruling allows the National Ben Gamla Jewish Charter School Foundation to proceed with its application to join Oklahoma's charter program, which draws taxpayer funds. The judge blocked the Republican-led state from enforcing its law. Several Oklahoma taxpayers and families intervened to defend the law after the Oklahoma Statewide Charter School Board, which had denied Ben Gamla's application, opted not to oppose a ruling against the nonsectarian mandate.
Daniel Chen, a lawyer for Ben Gamla at the religious rights legal group Becket, stated that the ruling ensures the school "now gets what it should have had from the start: a fair shot to serve Oklahoma families." He added, "The Constitution doesn't permit the state to welcome every kind of charter school except a religious one."
However, lawyers for interveners from groups including Americans United for Separation of Church and State and the American Civil Liberties Union called the ruling "a dangerous sea change for our democracy." In a joint statement, they vowed to "continue to fight for all Oklahomans, who deserve public schools that are secular and open to all students."
The case follows a similar situation last year where the Supreme Court was evenly divided on whether to overturn an Oklahoma Supreme Court ruling that had prevented two Catholic dioceses from establishing a taxpayer-funded charter school in the state. Conservative Justice Amy Coney Barrett had recused herself from that case.
Pick the topics you care about. Get only what matters, on your cadence.