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OKLAHOMA CITY — After unsuccessfully backing a Catholic charter schoolan Oklahoma board will “ than likely” have to deny a proposal to found another publicly funded religious charter school in the state.

The Statewide Charter School Board is expected to vote next month on a Jewish charter school’s application for approval.

Chairperson Brian Shellem said the state board is legally bound to obey an Oklahoma Supreme Court ruling that rejected opening a religious charter school with taxpayer funds. A deadlocked U.S. Supreme Court let the state-level ruling stand.

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That means, “we will than likely have to deny their application,” Shellem said, though he suggested the school could do an “outstanding job” academically.

If rejected, the school founders would have an opportunity to reapply a second and final time.

Shellem said he expects the founders also might file a lawsuit if denied.

“I would not be shocked or surprised if this ignites another legal battle,” Shellem said. “So regardless of whatever happens, I really do believe our board would be sued no matter what.”

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Ben Gamla would provide an education that is “intellectually rigorous and deeply rooted in Jewish knowledge, values and lived tradition,” according to its application.

Each employee, though allowed to have different religious beliefs, would be considered a “servant of the Jewish faith” and would be expected to “uphold the standards of the Jewish tradition in their day-to-day work and personal lives,” the application states.

A Florida charter school founder and former Democratic U.S. Rep. Peter Deutsch said he is committed to making Ben Gamla a success in Oklahoma.

“This is something that’s been in my head for at least 10 years, if not longer, and I think the opportunity is probably the best in Oklahoma of any state in the United States of America today,” Deutsch said when presenting to the state board on Monday.

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Brett Farley, who sat on the board of the now-defunct Catholic charter school, is also listed among the founding board members for the Jewish school.

The application promises a K-12 online-based education with rigorous academics. Ben Gamla, named for a high priest in Israel 2,000 years ago, also would provide instruction in Jewish religion, culture, values, rituals, texts, holidays and practices.

Like Deutsch’s secular Ben Gamla charter schools in Florida, the Oklahoma school would teach Hebrew classes. Deutsch said the Oklahoma school, though bearing a similar name, is an entirely separate organization from his Florida charter school network.

While presenting to the statewide board, Deutsch said the online school would be open to students of any background. He said he first visited Oklahoma a few years ago to explore the possibility of founding a school and visited with about 20 people, including 10 Jewish parents.

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“My sense of talking to parents was there are a lot of parents that are looking for a sort of a faith-based, rigorous academic program, but there was nothing there,” Deutsch said.

State law and recent court precedent don’t allow charter schools, or any public school, in Oklahoma to adopt a particular religion. No existing charter schools in the state emphasize the Hebrew language or Judaic studies as Ben Gamla would, though multiple synagogues and Jewish community centers in Tulsa and Oklahoma City do.

An estimated 8,900 Jewish people live in Oklahomaor .22% of the state’s total population.

The Ben Gamla application proposes opening later this year with a goal year-one enrollment of 400 students K-12. Its goal enrollment is 1,150 students in five years.

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During Deutsch’s presentation, Shellem brought up the “elephant in the room” — why apply for approval after the board’s experience with St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School? Deutsch gave a succinct response.

“We have presented an application for you that we believe meets and exceeds all of your criteria,” Deutsch said. “And so, we expect and hope that you’re going to approve that application.”

The statewide board isn’t interested in “paying for Sunday school,” Shellem said after the meeting Monday. Rather, the board is hunting for charters that would produce strong academic results.

“I believe the Ben Gamla school could deliver that,” he said. “I think St. Isidore could have delivered that.

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And we are going to be bound by the Oklahoma Supreme Court ruling no matter what, and we will comply with those orders. But, I think it’s unfortunate that we have to potentially deny schools that are highly qualified that could do an outstanding job for students in the areas of mathematics, science, reading (and) literature because of their desire to teach a religious component.”

Oklahoma Voicice is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Oklahoma Voice maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Janelle Stecklein for questions:(email protected).

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