NY School District Recognizes Christian Student Club's Equal Access Rights
by Jim Brown
February 15, 2006
(AgapePress) - - A religious liberties group confirms that a New York high school has ended its three-year campaign of discrimination against a Christian student club. Earlier this month, officials with the Schenectady City School District (SCSD) finally authorized the presence of the Christian Alliance on the Schenectady High School campus. The move came after the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) sent a letter to the school, warning that if the equal access rights of Christian students were not respected, a lawsuit would follow. ADF affiliated lawyer Gary McCaleb says the victory has been a long time coming.
"What's bad about this," McCaleb notes, "is that for three years Christians didn't have full rights. They weren't even sitting in the back of the bus; they couldn't get on the school club bus, so to speak. And that's just plain, flat wrong."
The ADF attorney points out that the Federal Equal Access Act, which guarantees voluntary, student-initiated and student-led organizations equal rights on school campuses, equal treatment by school employees, and equal access to school facilities, has been "in play" for more than 20 years. "School officials really ought to know better by now," he says.
Schenectady High School officials had argued in this case that the Christian Alliance would have violated the so-called separation of church and state and that approving the faith-based group would be an unconstitutional endorsement of religion. However, the school had an apparent change of heart after the ADF threatened legal action.
Now, McCaleb says, the school has granted the Christian Alliance the same privileges offered to other student groups. "That would include use of the [public address system] for announcing club meetings and stuff," he notes. "Now, under the law, that doesn't include doing club business; but, certainly, if they are allowing other clubs to issue announcements over the PA system, that includes the Christian club."
According to federal law, McCaleb emphasizes, "Equal access is equal access. Equal rights is equal rights. What's good for the other clubs will be good for the Christian club." And although he feels the SCSD board's recognition of the students First Amendment rights was too long in coming, he acknowledges the officials' change of heart as "the right resolution to an inequitable situation,' and says the board members are to be commended for finally affirming the students' equal access rights.
Jim Brown, a regular contributor to AgapePress, is a reporter for American Family Radio News, which can be heard online.
