Christian after-school club wins legal victory in California

A Christian after-school club has scored a legal win after California public school officials denied the club access to school facilities.

U.S. District Judge Haywood Gilliam granted the Child Evangelism Fellowship (CEF) – which hosts Good News Clubs in thousands of public schools nationwide – a preliminary injunction against the Oakland Unified School District (OUSD).

The district hosted a Good News Club until the COVID-19 pandemic without issues, according to Liberty Counsel, which represented CEF.

But in 2023 as such groups were returning after the shutdown, OUSD refused to host the club, citing a variety of reasons such as lack of available space and saying, “We are not in support of Evangelism on our campus.”

The injunction ruling, filed Aug. 15, recalled how OUSD argued “allowing CEF to use space on campus would violate the Establishment Clause because CEF’s programming is presented ‘from a Christian viewpoint.’”

“By implication then,” Judge Gilliam continued, “the District appears to argue that CEF must change its programming to remove its Christian viewpoint in order to have access to facilities.”

However, legal precedent, including a 2001 Supreme Court case involving a Good News Club in New York, holds that public spaces can’t exclude Christian groups based on their religion.

“The law and facts clearly favor Plaintiff’s position that OUSD violated CEF’s free speech rights,” Gilliam concluded.

Liberty Counsel celebrated the injunction and the ongoing work of CEF.

“This is a great victory for Child Evangelism Fellowship, parents, and the students in Oakland public schools,” said Liberty Counsel Founder and Chairman Mat Staver.

“Child Evangelism Fellowship gives children a biblically based education that includes moral and character development. Good News Clubs should be in every public elementary school.”

CEF hosts over 84,000 Good News Clubs worldwide and has reached over 4 million children. Its lessons include Bible lessons, songs, memory verses, games and activities reinforcing the lesson’s theme.