BY : Ryan Foley, Christian Post Reporter
A federal judge has permanently ordered one of California’s largest school districts to allow the Christian Good News Club to meet on campus after more than a year of legal battles over alleged religious discrimination.
In a statement published Wednesday, Liberty Counsel announced that the Child Evangelism Fellowship secured a permanent injunction requiring the Oakland Unified School District in Oakland, California, to provide the Good News Club equal access to school facilities alongside similarly situated secular after-school groups.
The ruling comes nearly a year after a federal court granted the Christian organization a preliminary injunction that temporarily granted the Good News Club equal access.
In a statement published Wednesday, Liberty Counsel announced that the Child Evangelism Fellowship secured a permanent injunction requiring the Oakland Unified School District in Oakland, California, to provide the Good News Club equal access to school facilities alongside similarly situated secular after-school groups.
“The Parties agree that Defendant, Oakland Unified School District, is required, under the First Amendment, to provide Child Evangelism Fellowship NorCal access to its facilities that is equal to and on the same terms as other similarly situated nonreligious organizations offering programs to students in the Oakland Unified School District,” wrote Judge Haywood Gilliam of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California in his ruling.
The decision also serves as a final judgment ending the litigation between the parties.
In addition to permanently restoring access for the Good News Club, the court awarded the plaintiffs $120,000 in attorney fees and legal costs.
“This is another victory for Child Evangelism Fellowship, parents, and students,” Liberty Counsel Founder and Chairman Mat Staver said in a statement.
“The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that public schools cannot discriminate against Christian viewpoints regarding use of school facilities,” he added. “The Oakland Unified School District learned that viewpoint discrimination against religious clubs can be a costly mistake. Child Evangelism Fellowship gives children a biblically based education that includes moral and character development. Good News Clubs should be in every public elementary school.”
The Good News Club filed suit against the Oakland Unified School District in December 2024, alleging that district officials treated the Christian organization differently because of its religious beliefs.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the club held meetings at several schools within the district. However, all after-school activities were suspended in 2020 because of pandemic restrictions.
When the Good News Club sought to resume meetings in 2023, the organization said school officials repeatedly denied access despite allowing other after-school programs to use district facilities.
According to the lawsuit, district officials told the group it was not a “good match” and stated that “we are not in support of Evangelism on our campus.” School officials also reportedly claimed there was no available space, despite evidence presented in court suggesting otherwise.
As Staver noted, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in the 2001 case Good News Club v. Milford Central School that public schools violate the U.S. Constitution when they deny religious clubs access to facilities while permitting similar secular organizations to meet on campus.
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