US court rules in favor of Jewish charter school in Oklahoma

A federal judge ruled that Oklahoma may not deny public charter school funding to the National Ben Gamla Jewish Charter School Foundation based solely on its religious character.

In his decision for the U.S. District Court of the Western District of Oklahoma, Judge David Russell stated that the state cannot single out religious schools for exclusion from public charter funding because of their religion. The ruling prevents the Oklahoma Statewide Charter School Board from withholding funds from the Jewish foundation, though the order remains in effect only while the lawsuit continues through the federal court system.

Oklahoma law currently requires charter schools to be nonsectarian and unaffiliated with religious groups. This rule was previously used to deny funding to St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School. While the Catholic school sought funding through a 2023 lawsuit supported by U.S. bishops, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to rule on that case, leaving the institution without charter funding. It is not yet clear how the ruling for the Jewish charter school will affect the status of the Catholic school.