Oklahoma Board Rejects Jewish Charter School Proposal Following Court Ruling on Religious Schools

February 19, 2026

Education official in Oklahoma have declined to approve a proposal that would have established the state’s first Jewish charter school, following legal precedent involving a virtual Catholic charter school.

Christianity Daily reports that on Feb. 9, the Oklahoma Statewide Charter School Board voted to deny the application for Ben Gamla Jewish Charter School, which currently operates four campuses in Florida.

In a statement, Peter Deutsch, founder of the Ben Gamla Jewish Charter School, said “Parents across the Sooner State deserve more high-quality options for their children’s education, not fewer,” adding, “Yet [Republican Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond] is robbing them of more choices by cutting schools like Ben Gamla out. We’re confident this exclusionary rule won’t stand for long.”

The school is being represented by the religious liberty law firm Becket, which indicated that the school’s leadership plans to appeal the ruling.

Several organizations, including Americans United for Separation of Church and State, the American Civil Liberties Union, Education Law Center, Freedom From Religion Foundation and Oklahoma Appleseed Center for Law and Justice supported the rejection of the proposed charter school.

In June 2023, the Oklahoma Statewide Virtual Charter School Board voted to authorize St. Isidore, which would have operated under the oversight of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Oklahoma City and the Catholic Diocese of Tulsa.

However, the approval of St. Isidore faced a lawsuit filed in July 2023 by a coalition of advocacy groups as well as a complaint filed by Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond in October 2023.

In June 2024 the Oklahoma State Supreme Court ruled 7-1 that the authorization of St. Isidore violated the state constitution.

According to Christianity Daily, the charter school board voted unanimously to rescind the contract for St. Isidore, even as it appealed the matter to the U.S. Supreme Court.

In May 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a brief 4-4 per curiam decision upholding the Oklahoma Supreme Court’s ruling.

Photo: top, Credit: Facebook/Ben Gamla Palm Beach