Ben Gamla Jewish Charter School Sues Oklahoma Over Religious Funding

Ben Gamla sued after its application was unanimously rejected.

“OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) — A proposed Jewish charter school is now suing Oklahoma’s Statewide Charter School Board after it denied the school’s application for public funding, setting up another legal fight over whether religious schools can receive taxpayer dollars”

KFOR

The rejection was based on the Oklahoma Supreme Court's 2024 ruling.

KFOR

The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty is representing Ben Gamla.

The lawsuit argues the state act violates the First and Fourteenth Amendments.

The statute requires charter schools to be nonsectarian in all operations.

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Excluding religious applicants because they are religious is not neutral.

The complaint alleges Drummond has displayed hostility toward minority religions.

“Nearly a year after the Supreme Court left legal questions about the constitutionality of a religious public charter school in Oklahoma unresolved, a new legal fight over the same issue is kicking off in federal court”

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He warned that funding would force the state to fund extreme sects of the Muslim faith.

Drummond has maintained the question turns on Oklahoma's constitution.

The case follows a Catholic charter school that reached the Supreme Court but ended in a 4-4 tie.

Ben Gamla chose Oklahoma to engineer a federal challenge.

KFOR

The battle will test the post-Canterbury framework.