Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond has asked an Oklahoma County district judge to compel the Statewide Charter School Board to provide a more detailed explanation for its rejection of a proposed Jewish charter school, stating that the board’s limited rationale could invite litigation.
Drummond’s petition, filed on March 11, argues that the board denied the National Ben Gamla Jewish Charter School Foundation’s application solely on the requirement that charter schools be nonsectarian, omitting other valid legal and statutory grounds. The board cited legal precedent prohibiting taxpayer-funded religious charter schools.
“The board has a statutory duty to reject weak or inadequate applications,” Drummond stated, noting it did so in February when it denied the Ben Gamla proposal. He added that board leadership “steered members to cite only religion as the reason for denial,” leaving out other non-constitutional deficiencies.
The foundation, led by Peter Deutsch, had sought to open a virtual statewide charter school that would combine secular coursework with Jewish religious instruction beginning next school year. If approved, it would have been the first publicly funded religious charter school in the United States.
The board voted to reject the application on Feb. 9, citing a 2024 Oklahoma Supreme Court ruling that barred taxpayer‑funded religious charter schools under state law and the U.S. Constitution. A subsequent U.S. Supreme Court appeal in that case ended in a 4–4 tie, leaving the state high court’s decision in place.
Drummond’s petition contends that the board should also have cited independent statutory deficiencies. The filing argues the omission was intentional: “It is a deliberate decision designed to avoid issues of state law when Ben Gamla files a lawsuit seeking to overturn the Oklahoma Supreme Court’s decision.”
The petition states that “the plain statutory text requires a complete and accurate statement of the basis for rejection,” including discrepancies in enrollment projections—from an initial estimate of 40 high school students to 400 students across kindergarten through 12th grade—and the absence of a required parent or guardian representative on the governing board.
Drummond is asking the court to order a revised rejection letter that includes “all valid, independent, non‑constitutional grounds” for denial.
