A Jewish group is preparing to sue to overturn a ban on publicly funded religious charter schools in Oklahoma, after a state board unanimously rejected its proposal on Feb. 9.<\/p>\n
The Oklahoma Statewide Charter School Board\u2019s decision blocked an application from the National Ben Gamla Jewish Charter School Foundation to open a statewide virtual Jewish school serving grades K-12 beginning next school year.<\/p>\n
Ben Gamla\u2019s legal team, led by Becket, a prominent nonprofit religious liberty law firm, said the rejection violates the Constitution\u2019s Free Exercise clause and announced plans to file suit in federal court. In a statement, Becket attorney Eric Baxter criticized Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond, who has argued that publicly funded religious charter schools are unconstitutional.<\/p>\n
\u201cAttorney General Drummond\u2019s attack on religious schools contradicts the Constitution,\u201d Baxter said. \u201cHis actions have hung a no-religious-need-apply sign on the state\u2019s charter school program. We\u2019ll soon ask a federal court to protect Ben Gamla\u2019s freedom to serve Sooner families, a right that every other qualified charter school enjoys.\u201d<\/p>\n
A victory for Ben Gamla could redraw the line separating church and state, establishing the first school of its kind nationwide and opening the possibility for taxpayer-funded religious schools across the country.<\/p>\n
Spearheaded by former Florida Democratic Rep. Peter Deutsch, the Ben Gamla proposal called for a blend of daily Jewish religious studies alongside secular coursework. Deutsch, who nearly two decades ago established a network of nonreligious \u201cEnglish-Hebrew\u201d charter schools in Florida, has said he chose Oklahoma as a testing ground for what he views as a viable model of publicly funded religious education.<\/p>\n
In a statement, Deutsch criticized the board\u2019s decision.<\/p>\n
\u201cParents across the Sooner State deserve more high-quality options for their children\u2019s education, not fewer,\u201d Deutsch said in a statement. \u201cYet Attorney General Drummond is robbing them of more choices by cutting schools like Ben Gamla out. We\u2019re confident this exclusionary rule won\u2019t stand for long.\u201d<\/p>\n
The rejection, delivered during the board\u2019s monthly meeting, did not come as a surprise. The board\u2019s 2023 approval of a similar application by a Christian group to establish St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School was ultimately overturned by the Oklahoma Supreme Court on constitutional grounds.<\/p>\n
An attempt to challenge the state court decision at the federal level failed when the U.S. Supreme Court deadlocked on the case last year due to a recusal by Amy Coney Barrett, who has ties to the Catholic group.<\/p>\n
Several board members cited the legal outcome in explaining their votes against Ben Gamla.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am troubled by the fact that our hands are tied by the state Supreme Court decision, but I think we have to honor it, and it\u2019s a very clear directive,\u201d board member Damon Gardenhire said at the meeting.<\/p>\n
Board member David Rutkauskas said it was \u201cvery unfortunate\u201d that the board was \u201cbound\u201d by the Oklahoma Supreme Court, adding that the decision was not because Ben Gamla is \u201cnot a good candidate or qualified.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I could have voted for this school today without being bound, I would have voted yes,\u201d Rutkauskas said. \u201cI think it would be great for the Jewish community and the Jewish kids to have this option of a high quality school.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ahead of the board\u2019s vote, during public comment, Jewish Oklahoma resident Dan Epstein argued that the \u201cpublic should not be funding sectarian education.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy religious education was entirely private,\u201d Epstein said. \u201cMy parents didn\u2019t ask for anybody else to pay for it. They paid for it as part of dues to our congregation, and so I\u2019m here today to express my opposition to the application of the Ben Gamla school.\u201d<\/p>\n
Epstein was not the only Jewish voice in Oklahoma to object to Ben Gamla.<\/p>\n
Last month, the Tulsa Jewish Federation and several local Jewish leaders issued a joint statement in which they criticized Ben Gamla for failing to consult local Jewish leaders ahead of their application to open the school.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are deeply concerned that an external Jewish organization would pursue such an initiative in Oklahoma without first engaging in meaningful consultation with the established Oklahoma Jewish community,\u201d the leaders wrote. \u201cHad such a consultation occurred, the applicant would have been made aware that Oklahoma is already home to many Jewish educational opportunities.\u201d<\/p>\n
Oklahoma is home to fewer than 9,000 Jews, many of whom live in Tulsa.<\/p>\n
During the deliberation on Feb. 9, board member William Pearson cited opposition to the Ben Gamla proposal from Oklahoma Jewish congregations.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy real concern is that I don\u2019t see a grassroots effort from the Jewish community in the state of Oklahoma,\u201d Pearson said. \u201cNow maybe I\u2019m wrong, but I haven\u2019t seen it. What I have seen is the synagogues, both from Oklahoma City and Tulsa, come out in opposition to this, and I find that very interesting, that the Jewish community, the people that are involved daily in Jewish lifestyle, that they\u2019re opposed to this.\u201d<\/p>\n
Immediately after voting to turn down Ben Gamla, the board approved hiring outside legal counsel in anticipation of a lawsuit.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can\u2019t predict the future, but I would say, by all indicators, I would be shocked if there\u2019s not a lawsuit filed by Friday,\u201d board chair Brian Shellem said.<\/p>\n