MAJOR VICTORY IN CHILD EVANGELISM FELLOWSHIP CASE
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ruled on
June 30 that the public schools in Montgomery County, Maryland may not
refuse to distribute fliers for meetings of Child Evangelism Fellowship
(CEF), a religious community group. The district had been discriminating
against CEF's "Good News Clubs" because of their religious content while
distributing informational fliers for numerous other community groups.
Child Evangelism Fellowship of Maryland v. Montgomery County Public
Schools arose when a CEF volunteer asked school officials that
informational fliers be distributed at two elementary schools so that
parents could make an informed decision whether they wanted their
children to attend CEF’s after-school Bible club meetings.
The school district refused to distribute the fliers, despite the fact
that it regularly distributes informational fliers for a large number of
community organizations covering a diverse range of interests, including
sports groups, Boy and Girl Scouts, performing arts groups, child care
groups, health groups, and environmental groups.
The Christian Legal Society’s Center for Law and Religious Freedom
filed suit against the school district in January 2003 on behalf of CEF,
seeking equal treatment of CEF’s informational fliers. A federal
district court in Maryland declined to order equal treatment of CEF, and
CEF appealed the decision. The Court of Appeals ruled that Supreme Court
precedent requires equal treatment of CEF, and it sent the case back to
the district court for further proceedings.
Opinion
CENTER WINS UNIVERSITY RECOGNITION AND MORE FOR DISCIPLEMAKERS CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP
The Pennsylvania State University agreed on June 24, 2004 to grant
DiscipleMakers Christian Fellowship status as a University approved
student organization, to remove the "uniqueness" requirement it
previously placed on religious student organizations, and to abolish the
separate review process it previously had in place for religious student
organizations.
In the 2003 and 2004 academic years, the University refused to grant
DiscipleMakers status as a registered student organization because it
claimed the group did not satisfy the University's "uniqueness"
requirement. The University's "uniqueness" rule required all student
organizations seeking registered status to have a purpose and function
that was different from all currently registered student organizations.
The University additionally required religious organizations to follow
a more rigorous registration process than non-religious organizations.
While most student groups submitted their registration applications
directly to the Undergraduate Student Government Supreme Court for
approval, religious organizations were first required to receive approval
from the Center for Ethics and Religious Affairs.
Center attorneys sent a demand letter to the University on May 20,
2004 challenging the constitutionality of the University's procedure for
registering student organizations and specifically their failure to grant
DiscipleMakers status as a registered student organization. The
University responded by asking the Center for an indefinite extension to
address DiscipleMakers' concerns. Center attorneys responded by filing a
federal lawsuit against the University on June 21, 2004, and the
University subsequently agreed to change its unconstitutional policies.
Special thanks to the Alliance Defense Fund for its financial support
of the case and its service as co-counsel.
More Information
ATTORNEY EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY AT AMERICANS UNITED FOR LIFE
Americans United for Life (AUL) is seeking to hire a Director and a
Staff Attorney to work in its Center for Rights of Conscience. The
positions are available on or about August 1, 2004 in Chicago, IL .
Detailed job descriptions are posted on the CLS website.
To apply for either of these positions, please email your resume to
Resumes@AUL.org or fax to 312-492-7235. For more general information on
the ministry and mission of AUL, visit its website at http://www.aul.org.
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