Overview
- The National Ben Gamla Jewish Charter School Foundation has applied to open a statewide online charter that pairs Oklahoma academic standards with daily Jewish religious instruction.
- Board chair Brian Shellem said the panel is bound by an Oklahoma Supreme Court ruling left intact by a U.S. Supreme Court deadlock, making a denial more than likely and a legal challenge possible.
- Leaders from Tulsa synagogues, Jewish Tulsa, and the Mizel Day School issued a joint statement opposing the out‑of‑state proposal over a lack of meaningful local input and concerns about destabilizing community institutions.
- Ben Gamla’s counsel at Becket argues that excluding religious charters violates Supreme Court precedents and says Peter Deutsch consulted rabbis and parents in 2023, a claim local leaders dispute.
- The Statewide Charter School Board could consider the application on Feb. 19, and the filing outlines a K–12 online program targeting 400 students in year one and 1,150 within five years.