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OKLAHOMA CITY 鈥� A coalition of civil rights organizations today urged the Oklahoma Statewide Charter School Board to reject Ben Gamla Jewish Charter School鈥檚 application to form the nation鈥檚 first religious public charter school, which would be a flagrant violation of Oklahomans鈥� religious freedom and the constitutional promise of church-state separation, as well as Oklahoma鈥檚 guarantee that public schools be open to all. In a letter to the board, the coalition explained the many ways Ben Gamla鈥檚 proposed school would violate state and federal law by indoctrinating students in a specific religion and discriminating against students, staff, and, potentially, parents. The groups also pointed to substantial deficiencies in required elements throughout the application. The letter was authored by Americans United for Separation of Church and State, the 老熟女午夜福利, Education Law Center, Freedom From Religion Foundation and Oklahoma Appleseed Center for Law and Justice. Most of these organizations represented Oklahoma public school advocates, parents, and faith leaders in a 2023 lawsuit to block Oklahoma from creating and funding St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School, a proposed religious public charter school that was ruled unconstitutional by the Oklahoma Supreme Court in 2024, a decision the U.S. Supreme Court let stand in 2025. In today鈥檚 letter, the groups detail how Ben Gamla鈥檚 proposal would similarly violate the U.S. Constitution, the Oklahoma Constitution, the Oklahoma Charter Schools Act and the board鈥檚 own regulations, which make clear that charter schools are public schools that must be secular and open to all students and cannot use religion as a license to discriminate in admissions or employment. 鈥淓stablishing the nation鈥檚 first religious public school would be a dangerous sea change for American democracy,鈥� said Rachel Laser, president and CEO of Americans United. 鈥淲e urge the board to protect public education and the religious freedom of Oklahoma taxpayers and students by rejecting Ben Gamla鈥檚 application. Public schools aren鈥檛 and should never be religious schools.鈥� 鈥淭he very idea of a religious public school is a constitutional oxymoron,鈥� said Daniel Mach, director of the ACLU Program on Freedom of Religion and Belief. 鈥淲e hope the board rejects this application and safeguards the religious liberty of Oklahoma students, families, and taxpayers.鈥� 鈥淎lthough the Oklahoma Supreme Court has already made crystal clear that a religious charter school would violate the law, we are again faced with the need to oppose the establishment and public funding of such a school in the state,鈥� said Jessica Levin, litigation director at Education Law Center. 鈥淲e are proud to stand with a large and diverse group of people in Oklahoma and across the country who will fight to maintain a secular public education system that is open to all and rejects discrimination of any kind.鈥� 鈥淧ublic charter schools are public schools, and public schools must be secular,鈥� said Annie Laurie Gaylor, co-president of the Freedom From Religion Foundation. 鈥淎llowing a religious charter school would open the door to government-funded religious indoctrination and discrimination, undermining the religious freedom of students, families and taxpayers alike. Oklahoma has already seen where this road leads, and there is no lawful basis to repeat that mistake.鈥� 鈥淧ublic dollars should strengthen public schools that welcome every child, not be diverted to religious institutions that exclude or indoctrinate,鈥� said Brent Rowland, interim executive director and legal director at Oklahoma Appleseed. 鈥淭he Constitution鈥檚 separation of church and state protects both religious freedom and public education. When the state funds a religious charter school, it violates that promise and drains scarce resources from the neighborhood public schools that most Oklahoma families rely on. At a moment when our communities are desperate for meaningful investment in public education, Oklahoma officials should reject this application and uphold the constitutional guardrails that serve all students.鈥� Attorneys authoring the letter include Alex J. Luchenitser and Luke Anderson at Americans United; Daniel Mach at the ACLU; Jessica Levin, Wendy Lecker, Patrick Cremin and Katrina Reichert at ELC; Samuel T. Grover and Kyle J. Steinberg at FFRF; and Brent L. Rowland and Morgan Bandy at Oklahoma Appleseed.

KNOX COUNTY, Tenn. 鈥� Five taxpayers in Knox County, Tennessee, who support public education and church-state separation have been granted permission by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee to intervene in The Wilberforce Academy of Knoxville v. Knox County Board of Education. The court determined that these taxpayers, all parents of current or former Knox County public school students, had a legal right to participate in the lawsuit, which centers on the constitutionality of a religious public charter school attempting to open in Knox County. These taxpayers are now intervenor-defendants in the lawsuit. In response to their motion filed last week, the court ruled that the parent taxpayers 鈥渄emonstrated direct and concrete interests in: (1) preventing the potential unlawful use of taxpayer funds to establish religion and (2) ensuring that their children鈥檚 education is not diminished by the diversion of funds to religious schools.鈥� The court also noted the serious stakes of the case and the fact that no other party planned to defend the constitutionality of Tennessee law forbidding religious charter schools. The intervenors are represented by Education Law Center, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, the 老熟女午夜福利, the 老熟女午夜福利 of Tennessee, Freedom From Religion Foundation, the Southern Poverty Law Center, and the law firm Morrison Foerster pro bono. The counsel team issued the following statement: 鈥淭here is no question that Knox County taxpayers, including our clients, have a substantial interest in preventing their tax dollars from illegally funding a religious public school. Likewise, public school parents have a clear interest in preventing already-scarce funding from being diverted away from their children鈥檚 schools to pay for religious instruction. 鈥淲e are pleased that neither side opposed our clients鈥� participation in the Wilberforce Academy lawsuit, and that the court immediately recognized our clients鈥� right to assert a vigorous defense of the laws forbidding religious public education. 鈥淪omeone needs to stand up for the cherished and longstanding American principle of church-state separation and for the public schools that are the cornerstone of our democracy. We鈥檙e proud to represent these clients, who have stepped up to do just that.鈥�

ACLU, ACLU of Tennessee, and partners are representing six Knox County taxpayers dedicated to supporting public education and the separation of church and state who oppose Wilberforce Academy鈥檚 effort to force the county to authorize and fund it as a religious public charter school. The taxpayers, public school parents and faith and community leaders, object to their tax dollars funding a public charter school that will indoctrinate students into one religion, in violation of Tennessee and federal law and our nation鈥檚 longstanding commitment to the separation of church and state. They want to ensure that public schools remain secular and open to all.

KNOX COUNTY, Tenn. 鈥� Six Knox County taxpayers dedicated to supporting public education and the separation of church and state filed a鈥痬otion鈥痶oday in federal court seeking to intervene in a case about the constitutionality of a religious public charter school that is attempting to open in Knox County. The lawsuit, The Wilberforce Academy of Knoxville v. Knox County Board of Education, was filed in November 2025 by a religious organization that wants to run a public charter school鈥攆unded by taxpayers鈥攖hat, according to the school鈥檚 own complaint, would provide an 鈥渆xplicitly biblical and Christian education.鈥� The proposed intervenors are seeking to join the lawsuit on the side of the defendants, the Knox County Board of Education and its members. They oppose Wilberforce Academy鈥檚 effort to force the defendants to authorize and fund it as a religious public charter school. The proposed parties are public school parents and faith and community leaders who object to their tax dollars funding a public charter school that will indoctrinate students into one religion, in violation of Tennessee and federal law and our nation鈥檚 longstanding commitment to the separation of church and state. They want to ensure that public schools remain secular and open to all. 鈥淧ublic education is part of the common good. A religious charter school would be at odds with the need to ensure public schools remain appropriate for and welcoming to students of all faiths, families, and backgrounds,鈥� said proposed intervenor Amanda Collins, a retired school psychologist and parent of Knox County public school students. 鈥淎nd it would divert already limited public funds and scarce resources away from other public schools in Knox County. We can鈥檛 let this happen.鈥� The motion to intervene explains that charter schools are part of Knox County鈥檚鈥痯ublic education鈥痵ystem, and as such, cannot advance religious doctrine.鈥疞ike all public schools, charter schools must accept and serve all students and may not be run as religious schools. The proposed parties are asking the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee to allow them to participate in the case in order to safeguard these interests. 鈥淭he Reformed tradition in which I am formed has long supported the separation of church and state, believing that our faith, and all faiths, are best supported when they are free of undue state interference. This is why I object to the use of tax dollars to support religious education of any kind, including my own religion.鈥疪eligious education鈥痠s the job of churches, denominations, and private religious schools,鈥濃�痵aid the Rev. Dr. Richard Coble, another proposed intervenor, who is a pastor鈥痑t Westminster Presbyterian Church鈥痠n Knoxville and the parent of two Knox County public school students. The proposed parties are represented by Education Law Center, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, the 老熟女午夜福利, the ACLU of Tennessee, Freedom From Religion Foundation, the Southern Poverty Law Center, and the law firm Morrison Foerster pro bono. The motion to intervene is available here: https://assets.aclu.org/live/uploads/2026/01/2026-01-27-21-motion-to-intervene.pdf