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Education Law
Plans for public religious charter school denied again in Oklahoma, for now
The battle to open a taxpayer-funded religious charter school continues in Oklahoma, where on Monday a school board rejected a proposal for the Ben Gamla Jewish Charter School. (Image from Shutterstock)
The battle to open a taxpayer-funded religious charter school continues in Oklahoma, where on Monday a school board rejected a proposal for the Ben Gamla Jewish Charter School.
According to Law.com, members of the Oklahoma Statewide Charter School Board said they must adhere to guidance from the Oklahoma Supreme Court, which held that using public funds for a religious education institution is unconstitutional. The U.S. Supreme Court also affirmed that decision in Oklahoma Statewide Charter School Board v. Drummond in May.
“We have to follow the law, and right now, the law says no,” one board member said, according to Law.com.
Law.com reports that all 40-plus states with charter school programs prohibit religious charter schools, but another recent Supreme Court case could open the door for their inclusion. In 2022, the high court held in Carson v. Makin that Maine could not prevent qualified rural families from using government assistance for religious private schools.
Chief Justice John Roberts, who authored the majority opinion, said Maine’s “nonsectarian” requirement for otherwise generally available tuition assistance payments to parents who live in school districts without a secondary school violates the First Amendment.
Legal action over the denial of the Ben Gamla Jewish Charter School is expected, Law.com reports, which could mean that the issue ultimately makes it way back to the Supreme Court.
In Oklahoma Statewide Charter School Board v. Drummond, which involved a proposal for an online Catholic charter school, the Supreme Court issued a split 4-4 ruling. Justice Amy Coney Barrett, who has close ties to a Notre Dame Law School professor who advised the school, recused herself from participating in that case, Law.com reports. She could, however, cast the deciding vote if the issue returns to the high court.
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