Federal Judge Grants Injunction for Jewish Charter School in Oklahoma, Setting Stage for Potential Supreme Court Challenge
A federal judge in Oklahoma, U.S. District Court Judge David L. Russell, has granted a preliminary injunction allowing a proposed Jewish charter school, National Ben Gamla Jewish Charter School Foundation, to proceed despite the nonsectarian requirement of the Oklahoma Charter Schools Act. The ruling, issued on Thursday, states that the nonsectarian provision in the state law discriminates against otherwise eligible recipients solely due to their religious character, thereby violating the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment. This decision directly conflicts with a 2024 Oklahoma Supreme Court ruling in Drummond v. Oklahoma Statewide Virtual Charter School Board, which blocked the proposed St. Isidore Catholic Charter School. The U.S. Supreme Court had previously left the Oklahoma Supreme Court's decision in place after a 4-4 ruling in 2025, with Justice Amy Coney Barrett recusing herself from the case. Attorneys representing the Ben Gamla foundation and the Statewide Charter School Board, who suppor...
