A federal appeals court ordered a South Carolina school district to pay nearly $100,000 in attorneys' fees and other damages for discriminating against Child Evangelism Fellowship (CEF), which sponsors Good News Clubs in public schools.
Anderson School District Five waived a facilities fee for groups including the Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, YMCA, the local Democratic Party and a host of other groups, but charged CEF. Officials claimed they waived the fee when it was "in the best interest of the district."
The appeals court ruled the district policy unconstitutional, saying the "government may not bar religious perspectives."
"Communities of faith may not be arbitrarily excluded from the protections of the Free Speech Clause," the justices wrote. "Government need not fear an Establishment Clause violation from allowing religious groups to speak under the same reasonable, viewpoint-neutral terms as other private parties."
Mathew Staver, founder of Liberty Counsel, who represented CEF, said the case sets a significant precedent.
"School officials should take notice," he said. "Equal access is the law, and equal access means equal treatment in every respect."
