Jewish school sues Oklahoma over charter denial after Supreme Court punted on issue

A Jewish charter school sued Oklahoma this week over its denial of the school’s application to the state’s charter school program, less than a year after the Supreme Court punted on the constitutionality of taxpayer-funded religious charter schools.

The National Ben Gamla Jewish Charter School Foundation filed the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma, claiming the denial of the school’s admission to the state charter school program violates the free exercise clause of the First Amendment and the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment.

“This is therefore a simple case—can Oklahoma arbitrarily exclude religious people from the charter school program? The Constitution says no,” the lawsuit reads. “For relief from these constitutional violations, Plaintiffs seek a declaration and injunction against Oklahoma’s unlawful policy and nominal damages, so they can open their school and serve Oklahoman children.”

Peter Deutsch, founder of the National Ben Gamla Jewish Charter School Foundation, accused Oklahoma