ACLJ Files Federal Lawsuit against California School District for Discriminating against Religious Organization

Business Wire, July 9, 2004

LOS ANGELES -- The American Center for Law and Justice, which specializes in constitutional law, today filed a federal lawsuit against the Upland Unified School District in Upland, CA on behalf of a religious organization that faced discriminatory treatment for using school facilities after-hours.

"This is a case where the school district singles out religious organizations and treats them differently from other community groups in utilizing school facilities," said Stuart J. Roth, Senior Counsel of the ACLJ. "The policy of the school district along with a California state education code are discriminatory because religious organizations are charged a fee to use facilities, while other similar organizations are not. We are hopeful the court will put an end to this discriminatory treatment and declare the policy and state law unconstitutional."

The ACLJ today filed suit in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles on behalf of the Pomona Valley Chapter of the Child Evangelism Fellowship (CEF), a not-for-profit religious community youth organization located in Upland, CA. The suit names the members of the Upland Unified School District Board of Education, the School Superintendent, and the Assistant Superintendent as defendants.

According to the suit, the school district permitted CEF to use school facilities for a weekly meeting from February through May 2004 that focused on how the Bible addresses issues facing students. After several meetings were held, CEF was presented with an invoice for $304 reflecting a fee of $19 per meeting charged to the organization because the meetings were classified as religious. CEF objected to the fee and when it applied to use school facilities again from May through June, the school district once again said the usage fee would apply.

The suit contends the policy of the school district along with a California Education Code singles out religious organizations in a discriminatory fashion by charging a usage fee for religious groups, while other community organizations are permitted to use the facilities free of charge.

The suit contends that the policy and education code violate the First and Fourteenth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution and requests that the court declare the policy and code unconstitutional. The suit also requests an injunction to prevent the discriminatory treatment from continuing.

The American Center for Law and Justice, which specializes in constitutional law, is based in Washington, D.C. and its web site address is www.aclj.org.