A federal court has ruled that the Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) must allow a Christian after-school program the same access to school facilities as other non-religious groups.
The ruling, issued by U.S. District Judge Haywood S. Gilliam, Jr., grants a preliminary injunction in favor of the Child Evangelism Fellowship (CEF) and its Good News Clubs, which had been denied access to four district campuses.
The decision comes after CEF, represented by the legal organization Liberty Counsel, filed suit in December 2024, arguing the district had engaged in religious discrimination. According to court documents, school officials had delayed or denied CEF’s applications over a two-year period, claiming lack of space, failure to approve community partnership applications, and direct objections to the group’s religious content.
Judge Gilliam sided with CEF, writing in the order that “the law and facts clearly favor” the group’s claim that the district violated its free speech rights. The court found that OUSD’s actions were not only discriminatory but also in conflict with established constitutional law.
“OUSD is simply wrong as a matter of well-established law,” Judge Gilliam stated in his ruling, rejecting the district’s argument that allowing religious clubs would violate the Establishment Clause. The court noted that since Good News Clubs are held after school, are not school-sponsored, and require parental consent, they are protected under the First Amendment.
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The preliminary injunction compels the school district to treat CEF’s Good News Clubs equally alongside other after-school programs like Girls on the Run and the Berkeley Chess School. Liberty Counsel says it now plans to pursue a permanent injunction.
As CBN News has reported, before the pandemic CEF NorCal East Bay regularly hosted Good News Clubs on OUSD campuses. However, when CEF requested to resume the Good News Clubs in 2023, elementary school officials responded with a variety of denials. In several instances, school officials allegedly displayed religious viewpoint discrimination stating that CEF was not a “good match,” and “we are not in support of evangelism on our campus.”
In a 2001 Supreme Court decision, Good News Club v. Milford Central School, the high court ruled that public schools cannot deny religious clubs access to school property if other community groups are allowed. Liberty Counsel cited that ruling as a cornerstone of its case.
“This is a great victory for Child Evangelism Fellowship, parents, and the students in Oakland public schools,” said Liberty Counsel Founder and Chairman Mat Staver in a statement. “The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that public schools cannot discriminate against Christian viewpoints regarding use of school facilities.”
Liberty Counsel has represented CEF in numerous cases nationwide and reports it has never lost a case involving the Good News Clubs.
Good News Clubs are free, volunteer-led programs that meet weekly and offer lessons on morality, character, and spiritual development from a Christian perspective. As noted, participation requires written parental permission.
Founded 88 years ago, the CEF is an international non-profit worldwide children’s ministry. Good News Clubs typically meet once per week, immediately after school, and are led by trained and vetted local community volunteers. The ministry reports school officials often see the positive difference the Christian clubs make. A survey of over 200 principals from 28 states reported that 87 percent of those principals where the clubs are located “noticed an improvement in student behavior.”
CBN News previously reached out to OUSD for comment but we never received a reply.
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