A press release from Becket said that the board argued that it was required to deny the application under the Oklahoma Supreme Court's ruling in St. Isidore v. Drummond. The ruling prohibits faith-based schools from participating in the state's charter school program. St. Isidore, represented in the case, is a Catholic school.
Meanwhile, Ben Gamla Jewish Charter School seeks to offer Oklahoma families a "rigorous, values-based education that is open to students of all faiths," integrating academic excellence with religious learning. With help from the Becket law firm, Ben Gamla will challenge the decision in federal court.
Daniel Chen, an attorney at Becket, spoke with AFN.
"If you listen to the meeting, you'll hear statements from individual board members, basically saying that their hands are tied by the Oklahoma Supreme Court decision from the St. Isadore case a couple years ago,” states Chen.
He explains that they believe that they just cannot allow a religious charter school in Oklahoma because of Establishment Clause concerns
"It seems like the state charter school board maybe wanted to approve Ben Gamla, but they felt like they couldn't, and we think this is unconstitutional discrimination against religion," says Chen.
In 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments over the St. Isadore case, but Justice Amy Coney Barrett recused herself. That led to a 4-4 split which left the Oklahoma Supreme Court's opinion intact.
"I think what could happen here is that a lawsuit could be filed challenging the exclusion from Oklahoma's charter school program," says Chen. "It's pretty clearly based religious discrimination, and it's not tied to any specific one religious group.”
Furthermore, he thinks this is an issue that everyone should get behind.
“I think people of all faiths and people of no faiths should care about this because the fundamental issue at hand is about equality of treatment," states Chen.
During the St. Isadore case, Oklahomans were divided over the issue of a religious charter school. This included people in public office. Still, Attorney General Gentner Drummond (R-Oklahoma) viewed it as unconstitutional.
"The framers of the U.S. Constitution and those who drafted Oklahoma's Constitution clearly understood how best to protect religious freedom: by preventing the State from sponsoring any religion at all," said Drummond in 2024.
