A federal judge has ordered the Oakland Unified School District to grant Good News Clubs equal access to school facilities as other after-school programs.
U.S. District Judge Haywood S. Gilliam Jr. issued a preliminary injunction, prompted by a lawsuit from Liberty Counsel representing Child Evangelism Fellowship’s (CEF) NorCal East Bay, requiring the district to allow Good News Clubs to meet on the same terms as nonreligious groups.
The suit, filed in December 2024, followed the district’s rejection of club applications at four campuses. Judge Gilliam ruled that the district’s actions violated free speech protections, rejecting claims that allowing the clubs would breach the Establishment Clause.
Decision Magazine reports:
Liberty Counsel, a religious liberty law firm, had filed a brief on behalf of CEF against the Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) and Superintendent Kyla Johnson-Trammell. Liberty Counsel says it will now seek a permanent injunction to guarantee Good News Clubs continue to receive the same access afforded other similar clubs.
According to the lawsuit, CEF applied for access on four different campuses over a two-year period but was denied on “religious grounds, pretextual schemes, and even by silence,” according to a Liberty Counsel news release. The district judge’s written opinion noted that one elementary school principal defended his opposition to CEF by stating, “[As] a public school, we are not in support of evangelism on our campus.”
In his ruling, Judge Gilliam cited a 2001 Supreme Court decision Good News Club v. Milford Central School affirming that schools cannot exclude religious clubs if secular groups have access. The ruling ensures Good News Clubs can hold weekly meetings like other programs.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, CEF NorCal East Bay held regular meetings on district campuses, but applications to resume in 2023 were denied, with officials citing the clubs’ religious nature and space constraints despite available rooms.
Liberty Counsel Founder and Chairman Mat Staver said, “This is a great victory for Child Evangelism Fellowship, parents, and the students in Oakland public schools. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that public schools cannot discriminate against Christian viewpoints regarding use of school facilities.”
“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.”
Liberty Counsel notes they have represented hundreds of CEF cases nationally and have never lost a case involving Good News Clubs.
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