Oklahoma is one step away from opening the nation's first religious public charter school, paid for with taxpayer dollars. On Sept. 24, a federal judge temporarily blocked the state from enforcing the part of the Oklahoma Charter Schools Act that requires charter schools to be nonsectarian, meaning not tied to any religion.

The order clears the way for a proposed Jewish virtual charter school that would teach religion alongside regular classes, starting in the 2027-28 school year. Just two years ago, the Oklahoma Supreme Court blocked a Catholic virtual charter school, and a deadlocked U.S. Supreme Court left that decision in place.

This is not about any one faith. Public schools serve every family, and they are paid for by taxpayers of every belief and of no belief at all. Once public money can fund religious instruction, school boards and lawmakers will be pushed to decide which faiths get funded and which do not. Churches, synagogues, mosques and private religious schools remain free to teach faith on their own terms.

Civil rights groups that joined the case warned that the ruling "opens the door to a dangerous sea change for our democracy," according to a joint statement from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Americans United for Separation of Church and State and others.

The state and the groups in the case have 30 days to appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit, according to the legal team representing the school. The Oklahoma Statewide Charter School Board, led by chair Brian Shellem, and Oklahoma's state leaders should file that appeal and defend the law that keeps public schools open to everyone.

Sign the petition to urge Oklahoma to appeal before the deadline passes and keep public schools free of religious instruction for every child.