Christian Legal Society
	4208 Evergreen Lane, Suite 222 Annandale, VA 22003 (703) 642-1070 www.clsnet.org

RELEASE:    May 5, 2003

CONTACT:  Jim Davids, (703) 642-1070 x3513

BIBLE CLUB FILES SUIT AGAINST NEW JERSEY SCHOOL DISTRICT GROUP SEEKS TO STOP CENSORING OF MEETINGS AND PROMOTIONAL MATERIALS

Penns Grove, NJ - An elementary school Bible club filed suit on Friday against the Penns Grove Carneys Point Regional School District after being denied privileges given to secular community groups meeting in school facilities.

Good News Club first sought meeting space at Field Street School in January. The District approved the Club's application, but with two conditions: First, no take-home flyers containing references to anything religious may be distributed; and secondly, the Club may not "attempt to influence or direct the influence of God on any student."

"The District's restrictions are nothing more than rank censorship," said Jim Davids, one of the attorneys for the Good News Club. "We know of no other organization which the District is censoring for meeting content and promotional materials. This anti-religious bias must stop." Davids is Litigation Counsel for Christian Legal Society, a non-profit organization that currently represents more than a dozen similar clubs around the country.

"Stripping religious references from the Club's promotional material will only result in false advertising. The Good News Club each week has Bible stories, religious songs and prayer. We want parents to know what the Club does, so they can make an informed decision about their child's attendance. The District's condition deprives parents of this vital information."

Referring to the second condition, Davids added: "No reasonable person can know the boundaries imposed by the District prohibiting the directing the influence of God on any student. Is voluntary prayer seeking God's help prohibited? Is telling a story about Jesus' love and encouraging students to follow Jesus' example prohibited? If so, then the District needs a lesson on the First Amendment's protection of speech and religious exercise."

Another Good News Club in Stafford, New Jersey won equal treatment in December after facing similar restrictions. Christian Legal Society brought suit on behalf of the club after the Stafford Township School District refused to distribute the club's flyers along with those of other community groups. The case is Child Evangelism Fellowship of New Jersey, Inc. v. Stafford Township Sch. Dist., Civil Action No. 02-4549 (MLC) and is now on appeal in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.

Christian Legal Society is a nationwide association of Christian lawyers, law students, law professors, and judges. Through its public interest law firm, CLS works through the legal system to protect the religious liberty of all Americans.