Judge blocks Oklahoma exclusion of Jewish charter school

On Sept. 24, 2026, U.S. District Judge David L. Russell issued a preliminary injunction blocking Oklahoma from excluding the National Ben Gamla Jewish Charter School Foundation from the charter program over religion. Ben Gamla proposes an online grades 9-12 school combining state academic standards with Jewish religious studies. The Statewide Charter School Board rejected it in February and March, citing the 2024 St. Isidore ruling. Russell wrote that a long line of Supreme Court precedent supports plaintiffs and that the state categorically excludes religious institutions from a generally available benefit, citing the Free Exercise Clause and 2022 Maine tuition case. Becket lawyer Daniel Chen argues the Constitution does not permit welcoming every charter school except a religious one, and that Ben Gamla now gets a fair shot to serve Oklahoma families. Peter Deutsch called it a victory for educational freedom and religious equality. Interveners' lawyers at Americans United and the ACLU counter that the ruling is a dangerous sea change for democracy and that Oklahomans deserve secular public schools open to all. Taxpayers and families intervened after the board declined to oppose the challenge. The Supreme Court split 4-4 on St. Isidore a year earlier after Justice Barrett recused. State and intervenors have 30 days to appeal to the 10th Circuit.