PORTLAND, Ore. — The Hispanic Club, the Chess Club and the Gay and Lesbian Alliance are just some of the clubs that have displays in the hallways of Portland schools.
But after the Bible Club at Marshall High School put a Bible and some other Christian books in a display case, some teachers complained to the principal. After a call to the district's lawyer, the display was taken down.
District officials said they felt the display gave the impression that the school was endorsing Christianity.
Bible Club leader Jeff Chatterton fought back by contacting the American Center for Law and Justice, an organization that has taken on a number of similar cases. This week Chatterton filed a federal lawsuit against the school district, saying that his right to free speech was violated.
Chatterton also claimed that the school clearly violated of the Federal Equal Access Act. The Supreme Court has ruled that all student groups be given the same access to outlets such as school newspapers, bulletin boards, even the public address system.
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Skywalker's comment: I don't know about Oregon, but in Georgia, this is Illegal. If a school grants access to one group, they must grant access to them all. Hence why in Georgia, the Parks and Rec. department can use a school for a basketball league, on Saturday, and a Church can have a function or services there on Sunday. In Georgia, if they didn't want the one group there, they would have to cancell the function. It's called the equal access provision. Sorry but some students showing their religious views doesn't imply to anyone that the school endorses those views, nor does it show favoritism towards one religion as an Atheist or Hindu Group could do the same. This is indeed a violation of free speech and the ACLU might want to take this opportunity to prove they are not anti-Christian.
Posted by Muddy at February 25, 2004 08:06 PM | TrackBack