Latest news with #ChildEvangelismFellowship
Epoch Times
3 hours ago
- Politics
- Epoch Times
Oakland Schools Must Allow Christian After-School Clubs: Judge
Public schools in Oakland, California, discriminated against a Christian group seeking to hold after-school meetings, according to a new ruling. The facts in the case show the Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) violated the free speech rights of Child Evangelism Fellowship and its Good News Club, U.S. District Judge Haywood Gilliam Jr. said in the Aug. 15 decision.
San Francisco Chronicle
3 days ago
- Politics
- San Francisco Chronicle
Federal judge orders Oakland public schools to allow religious after-school clubs
A U.S. District Court judge has ordered the Oakland Unified School District to allow a Christian ministry to use public school buildings for after-school meetings. The temporary order comes after the Child Evangelism Fellowship sued the Oakland school district in December, alleging schools opened campuses for secular organizations such as the Girl Scouts but in 2023 denied spaces to Good News Clubs, which had held weekly club meetings at a number of Oakland schools for a decade before pandemic shutdowns. Lawyers from the conservative nonprofit Liberty Counsel representing the fellowship argued in their December lawsuit that the Oakland district, which has 45,000 students, is 'showing hostility towards the religious identity, speech, and viewpoint' of the organization and the district was violating a variety of its liberties including its free speech and equal protection rights. 'It is not clear how much of a dispute actually exists here,' U.S. District Judge Haywood S. Gilliam said. 'The Court finds that the law and facts clearly favor Plaintiff's position that OUSD violated CEF's free speech rights.' The district 'appears' to argue its schools had no space to offer the fellowship, according to the court order. The district then appears to pivot its argument, suggesting that providing the fellowship with campus space would violate the Establishment Clause because the ministry's programming is from a Christian viewpoint. Gilliam relied on Supreme Court precedent that rejected a similar argument. Liberty Counsel is now seeking a permanent ruling, cementing their access to Oakland school campuses for its after school clubs, which it says provide students with religious and other teaching to encourage moral and character development, learning and spiritual growth. 'This is a great victory for Child Evangelism Fellowship, parents, and the students in Oakland public schools,' said Mat Staver, Liberty Counsel founder and chairman. 'The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that public schools cannot discriminate against Christian viewpoints regarding use of school facilities. 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.'
