The Christian youth organization responsible for Good News Clubs in public schools around the country is celebrating its win in a long-fought battle to ensure equal access to classroom facilities.
Liberty Counsel, the Christian legal advocacy firm representing Child Evangelism Fellowship, announced in late November its client received a permanent statewide injunction, allowing the Good News Clubs — a weekly extracurricular gathering during which 5- to 12-year-old kids learn Bible lessons, recite memory verses, sing praise songs, and play games — to operate in every school district in Hawaii.
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“This is a welcomed win not only for CEF Hawaii but for all Christian groups in the public square,” Fred Pry, acting vice president of administration for CEF, told The Christian Post. “The Constitution is crystal clear that the government cannot discriminate on the basis of religion or free speech.”
As a result of the injunction, Good News Clubs will have the same access to school facilities as any other group.
In January, Liberty Counsel filed a lawsuit against Aloha State education officials after four school districts on the islands blocked the Christian clubs from meeting on public campuses. In the legal complaint, attorneys argued that, by affording school access to secular groups while prohibiting faith-based meetings, district officials were violating the First and 14th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution.
The CEF received a preliminary injunction over the summer, ordering the Hawaii Department of Education as well as the six elementary schools named in the complaint to allow — just like any other club — the Good News Clubs to meet on school property. Then, on Nov. 19, a broader permanent injunction ensured the clubs have the right to meet on any public school campus in Hawaii.
Amidst its success in Hawaii, Liberty Counsel announced it is “preparing another lawsuit against a school district in California.” Attorneys said, “In that district, every view is welcome — except for the Christian club.”
This issue has been in the courts for decades. In 2001, the debate over whether Good News Clubs could meet on public school campuses made it all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. Ultimately, in Good News Clubs v. Milford Central School, the justices ruled 6-3 the school violated the First Amendment rights of Good News Club participants by preventing after-school meetings on campus.
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