Attorney General Gentner Drummond announced on March 11 that he is seeking a court order to require the Oklahoma Statewide Charter School Board to fully disclose its reasons for rejecting an application to establish the Ben Gamla Jewish Charter School. Drummond said the Board only cited religion as its reason for denial, despite previously identifying other flaws in the application that were not addressed.
The issue centers on transparency and adherence to legal obligations by state agencies. Drummond said, “This Board is playing politics with the taxpayers’ money. The revised Ben Gamla application had multiple serious flaws, which this Board itself identified just weeks earlier. But instead of doing its job and listing every valid reason for rejection, the Board deliberately suppressed those findings to manufacture a cleaner path to federal court. I will not allow this Board to rig the record at taxpayers’ expense.”
According to Drummond, the Board has a statutory duty to reject applications that are weak or inadequate. In February, it rejected the Ben Gamla Jewish Charter School Foundation’s initial application and listed all reasons for denial. At a March 9 meeting, however, when considering a revised application that did not address previous concerns—including a significant enrollment discrepancy—the Board cited only religious grounds for rejection after chairman Brian Shellem blocked a motion to include all valid reasons.
Drummond also said, “The Board has announced plans to hire outside legal counsel to defend a threatened federal lawsuit, and it manipulated the record to make that lawsuit easier to lose — not win.” He added, “A state agency that deliberately hobbles its own legal position is not doing its job — it is betraying Oklahoma taxpayers. I will not allow that.” He further clarified: “Let me be clear: This petition has nothing to do with the religious character of this school. Those questions were settled by the Oklahoma and U.S. Supreme Courts. It is about demanding that a state agency follow the law and issue a complete and honest rejection letter.”
Drummond leads the Oklahoma Attorney General’s office, leveraging extensive legal experience according to his official biography. The office focuses on combating crime, ensuring government transparency, strengthening tribal relations, upholding rule of law, supporting educational safeguards and energy sector policies, advocating tougher laws on crimes such as rape and drug distribution, collaborating with state and federal partners against organized crime, and providing public legal services according to his official biography.
The outcome of this case could affect how state agencies document their decisions in future charter school applications.
