Negotiations Fruitless; Lawsuit Seeks Equal Treatment for Bible Clubs
by Allie Martin
June 8, 2005
(AgapePress) - A federal lawsuit has been filed against San Diego City Schools claiming that fees charged to an after-school Bible club are unconstitutional.In July 1999, Child Evangelism Fellowship of Greater San Diego asked officials with San Diego City Schools for permission to hold a Good News Club after school hours. Although clubs such as the Boy Scouts use school facilities without charge, officials told CEF that they would have to pay rental fees because the after-school Bible clubs were considered to be a "church conducting religious services."
Since then, Florida-based Liberty Counsel had negotiated with school officials in an attempt to have the fees dropped. Now, says Liberty Counsel president Mat Staver, a lawsuit is the only option.
"The school officials have been contacted many times by the Good News Club representatives and given information. We have done the same thing, spoken to their legal counsel -- and yet they continue to refuse to treat the Good News Clubs equally," Staver explains.
The attorney says public school officials in San Diego are disregarding the Constitution. "I think at this point in time you can't simply say this is ignorance of the law," he says. "This is absolute, outright hostility of the law. There's too much information before this school district for them to simply claim ignorance at this point."
According to Staver, the outcome of the case could result in an expensive lesson for the district to learn. "We're going to ask that they refund over five years of fees that they have charged to the Good News Clubs, give them equal treatment for the future, and then pay the cost of this litigation," he explains. "This is going to be an expensive endeavor for the school district; they should have done the right thing. We intend to make them do the right thing in the future."
Liberty Counsel has successfully represented CEF in California and other states regarding rental fees for public school facilities. Last year the children's ministry reached more than five million children in more than 155 countries.
Allie Martin, a regular contributor to AgapePress, is a reporter for American Family Radio News, which can be heard online.
