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The Alliance Defense Fund has announced that its attorneys have secured a settlement Monday with Atlanta Public Schools that will result in official recognition of a Christian student club that was repeatedly denied access to the same rights, benefits, and privileges given to all other student clubs at Sutton Middle School. In March, ADF attorneys filed suit against the district on behalf of a Christian student and his mother, claiming that school officials violated their constitutional rights by discriminating against the club because it is religious.
From Fall 2008 through the spring semester of this year, Atlanta Public Schools officials repeatedly refused to treat the Student to Student Club equally to other clubs. A number of other non-curriculum-related student-led-clubs--including Power Over Prejudice, the Puppetry Club, and the Knitting Club--have been permitted to meet free of charge at Sutton Middle School and are entitled to a number of other benefits and privileges, including the ability to publicize club meetings and activities through a variety of communicative channels.
School officials had singled out the STS club for discriminatory treatment, forcing the club to pay monthly rent for meeting space and excluding the club from accessing any of the privileges extended to other Sutton student clubs--including all means to communicate its activities. School officials also prohibited STS club members from talking about the club with interested students or parents while on school grounds.
Under the terms of the settlement stated in the voluntary dismissal filed by ADF attorneys, the district granted the club equal access to the school as well as all benefits and privileges extended to other recognized clubs. The district also agreed to continue equal treatment, reimburse rental fees charged to the club that were not charged to other groups, and pay attorneys’ fees.
Comments
Why should my tax dollars pay to provide free services for Christian organizations?
Now they can have their minds open during school and then closed immediately afterward.
The public school where I teach offers a Christian organization. It meets before school and at lunch. It is student led, and is a big hit in our local area.
A great read on this issue, was published in 1922. Its called Organization And Administration Or Religious Education, by John Elbert Stout.
Usually the issues with religion based clubs are the religions rules versus social norms and the schools constitutionally required behaviors toward said norms. ie, the school can discriminate against a gay student, but the club may want to. if the school allows for the club then they are tacitly approving of the clubs rules, which would be a constitutional no no.
personally i think a _private_ club should have the right to exclude for any reason any one they want. but by the same token, as soon as it becomes a matter of using public resources in any way, then you need to switch over to a non discriminatory rule system. it is the trade off for getting a public hand out after all. seems fair. you wouldn't want to fund satan worship club would you? same deal.
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