Another Victory for Equal Access …This Time in California!

One year after the ADF-funded Supreme Court victory in the Good News Club v. Milford Central Schools case, more and more doors are swinging open for the Gospel. The latest door to be unlocked is in Los Angeles, California.

In October 2001, after the Supreme Court decision, Nancy Thomason, director of the San Fernando Valley chapter of Child Evangelism Fellowship, filed a request with the Los Angeles Unified School District to have a “Good News” club at the Chase Street Elementary School in Panorama City.

The school district had a policy that stated that civic and community groups are allowed to use school facilities to “meet and discuss any subjects and questions which appertain to the educational, political, economic, cultural, artistic, and moral interests of the citizens of the community in which they reside.” The policy forbid “sectarian or denominational religious exercises and activities…”

As a result, the request was denied. The only way that that Mrs. Thomason could gain access to school facilities was to apply through the district’s Real Estate branch and pay application and rental fees that other groups like the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts did not have to pay. Yet, when she followed these guidelines and offered to pay the fee, the request was still denied!

With the help of an ADF-allied ministry, Mrs. Thomason filed suit in district court to gain the equal access that had been guaranteed by the Good News decision several months earlier. The court awarded a preliminary injunction that overturned the policy and opened the schoolhouse doors to Mrs. Thomason and the Good News Club.

If that news was not exciting enough, here is something that should cause us further rejoicing (and cause gnashing of teeth at the ACLU)…SEVENTY-TWO children signed up to attend the after-school club at the elementary school!

The ADF-allied attorney who assisted Mrs. Thomason said: “Christian after-school clubs do not have to take the back seat of the bus. The Supreme Court has removed the barriers these religious clubs once encountered. Now we need to educate each school district that equal access really means equal access.”

PRAYER REQUESTS
“Without Me, You Can Do Nothing,” – John 15:5

1. Please pray for wisdom for the coming legal battles ahead.
2. Please pray for safe travel for a number of ADF team members who be on the road in the next few weeks.