The preliminary injunction blocks Oklahoma from enforcing its nonsectarian requirement against a proposed Jewish charter school.
Judge cites Free Exercise Clause
U.S. District Judge David Russell issued a preliminary injunction Thursday that prevents Oklahoma from excluding the National Ben Gamla Jewish Charter School Foundation from the state’s charter-school program solely because of its religious character.
Russell wrote that a long line of Supreme Court precedent supports the school’s First Amendment free-exercise claim. Oklahoma law currently requires charter schools to be nonsectarian.
Church-state dispute continues
Ben Gamla’s attorneys at Becket said the ruling gives the proposed school “a fair shot” to serve Oklahoma families. Groups including Americans United for Separation of Church and State and the ACLU criticized the decision and said public schools should remain secular and open to all students.
The case follows a 2025 Supreme Court dispute over a proposed Catholic charter school in Oklahoma. The justices split 4-4 in that case after Justice Amy Coney Barrett recused herself, leaving the Oklahoma Supreme Court’s ruling in place without setting a national precedent.
Source: Reuters
