A federal decide has ordered the Oakland Unified School District to grant Good News Clubs equal entry to high school services as different after-school packages.
U.S. District Decide Haywood S. Gilliam Jr. issued a preliminary injunction, prompted by a lawsuit from Liberty Counsel representing Baby Evangelism Fellowship’s (CEF) NorCal East Bay, requiring the district to permit Good Information Golf equipment to satisfy on the identical phrases as nonreligious teams.
The swimsuit, filed in December 2024, adopted the district’s rejection of membership functions at 4 campuses. Decide Gilliam dominated that the district’s actions violated free speech protections, rejecting claims that permitting the golf equipment would breach the Institution Clause.
Liberty Counsel, a non secular liberty legislation agency, had filed a quick on behalf of CEF in opposition to the Oakland Unified Faculty District (OUSD) and Superintendent Kyla Johnson-Trammell. Liberty Counsel says it can now search a everlasting injunction to ensure Good Information Golf equipment proceed to obtain the identical entry afforded different comparable golf equipment.
Based on the lawsuit, CEF utilized for entry on 4 totally different campuses over a two-year interval however was denied on “spiritual grounds, pretextual schemes, and even by silence,” in accordance with a Liberty Counsel information launch. The district decide’s written opinion famous that one elementary college principal defended his opposition to CEF by stating, “[As] a public college, we aren’t in help of evangelism on our campus.”
In his ruling, Decide Gilliam cited a 2001 Supreme Courtroom resolution Good News Club v. Milford Central School affirming that colleges can not exclude spiritual golf equipment if secular teams have entry. The ruling ensures Good Information Golf equipment can maintain weekly conferences like different packages.
Earlier than the COVID-19 pandemic, CEF NorCal East Bay held common conferences on district campuses, however functions to renew in 2023 have been denied, with officers citing the golf equipment’ spiritual nature and house constraints regardless of out there rooms.
Liberty Counsel Founder and Chairman Mat Staver mentioned, “It is a nice victory for Baby Evangelism Fellowship, mother and father, and the scholars in Oakland public colleges. The U.S. Supreme Courtroom has dominated that public colleges can not discriminate in opposition to Christian viewpoints concerning use of college services.”
“Baby Evangelism Fellowship offers kids a biblically based mostly training that features ethical and character growth. Good Information Golf equipment must be in each public elementary college.”
Liberty Counsel notes they’ve represented lots of of CEF circumstances nationally and have by no means misplaced a case involving Good Information Golf equipment.