Oklahoma Rejects Proposed Jewish Charter School After Federal Court Rules in School’s Favor

The latest attempt to establish the nation’s first religious charter school has hit a roadblock after Oklahoma’s charter school board once again rejected the application of a proposed Jewish charter school despite a court order.In a 4-3 vote on Monday, the Oklahoma charter school board rejected a proposal from an organization that runs several secular charter schools in Florida, the National Ben Gamla Jewish Charter Foundation. The proposal needed five votes. One member was absent. The vote came about two weeks after a federal district court paved the way for Ben Gamla’s approval. Oklahoma has been at the center of the debate around religious charter schools in America. Last year, Ben Gamla filed an application to open a religious Jewish charter school there months after the U.S. Supreme Court deadlocked in a similar case related to the Sooner State regarding a proposed virtual Catholic charter school, St. Isidore of Seville. At the time, Associate Justice Amy Coney Barrett recused herself. The high court’s decision left in place a ruling from Oklahoma’s state Supreme Court that blocked the opening of religious charter schools. Earlier this year, the state’s charter school board rejected Ben Gamla’s application, arguing it was bound by the state’s constitution. However, in September, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma granted Ben Gamla’s request for a preliminary injunction blocking the state from enforcing a law that requires charter schools to operate as secular institutions. While the district court’s decision was seen as opening the door for the board to approve Ben Gamla’s application, Monday’s vote was a surprising setback to backers of the proposed school. The charter school board’s chairman, Brian Shellem, told the Oklahoma Voice, “We have a preliminary injunction that says we can’t discriminate against them based on their religious character.”“Obviously, I didn’t poll any of the board members. I don’t know why they voted a certain way,” he said. “I thought Ben Gamla’s application was strong and thorough.”An attorney for Ben Gamla, Brett Farley, told reporters after the vote that the outcome was “a little shocking.” “We expected after the court decision that they would approve,” Mr. Farley said. “So, we’re just taking [an] assessment here of this decision and where we’re going to go from here.A board member who voted against Ben Gamla’s application, William Pearson, told the Oklahoma Voice that opposition to the school’s creation from the Jewish community factored into how he voted.“I think it all goes back, to me, with the Jewish community in Oklahoma that actually had submitted letters to the board recommending that we not approve it,” said Mr. Pearson, who also voted against St. Isidore’s application. It is unclear what steps Ben Gamla will take. Mr. Shellem said the organization can file a new application to open a religious charter school. An attorney for the board told reporters that the vote on Tuesday could lead to a federal judge finding the members in contempt of court. Opponents of religious charter schools argue that providing funds to religious schools would violate the U.S. Constitution’s Establishment Clause. Oklahoma’s attorney general, Gentner Drummond, who is a Republican, has repeatedly opposed the creation of religious charter schools in the state. In 2023, Mr. Drummond successfully sued to block the creation of St. Isidore, arguing that the proposed school would violate “the religious liberty of every Oklahoman” by providing state funds for the “teachings of a specific religious sect.”“Today, Oklahomans are being compelled to fund Catholicism,” Mr. Drummond said at the time. “Because of the legal precedent created by the board’s actions, tomorrow we may be forced to fund radical Muslim teachings like Sharia law.”However, Mr. Drummond is now suing the Oklahoma charter school board over its decision to reject Ben Gamla’s application earlier this year. He argues that the board actually supports the proposal but blamed the school’s religious nature — while ignoring other issues within the proposal — in an attempt to fast track a separate legal challenge to the state’s prohibition on religious charter schools. “Instead of doing its job and listing every valid reason for rejection, the board deliberately suppressed those findings to manufacture a cleaner path to federal court,” the attorney general said in a March press release.Proponents of religious charter schools say that states cannot prevent religious organizations from participating in generally available public programs solely because of their religious nature. They also argue that religious charter schools would not violate the Establishment Clause as they are managed by independent organizations, not public school boards, though they are accountable to the state governments that authorize charters. As the litigation plays out in Oklahoma, supporters of religious charter schools are hopeful that the U.S. Supreme Court will weigh in on the matter. After the high court was deadlocked in the case of St. Isidore, Oklahoma’s governor, Kevin Stitt, predicted that other attempts will be made to open religious charter schools. He added that he believes Justice Barrett “will break the tie” in a hypothetical future case.

Oklahoma Rejects Proposed Jewish Charter School After Federal Court Rules in School’s Favor

Oklahoma Rejects Proposed Jewish Charter School After Federal Court Rules in School’s Favor

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