2008 Woodie Awards
Student files lawsuit against school district
Mary Lane
Issue date: 11/1/07 Section: Local News
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A Shoreham, Vt. high school student has filed suit with the U.S. District Court in Burlington against Middlebury Union High School (MUHS) for denying student-run Christian fellowship club Youth Alive official club status. MUHS has been served papers, but no official court date has been set.
The Arizona-based Christian advocacy group Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) represents the student, who is referred to in court documents only as "V.O." ADF Senior Legal Counsel David Cortman stated on the ADF's Web site that "granting official recognition to other non-curriculum related student clubs while denying this one solely on the basis of religion is a violation of the [federal] Equal Access Act and the First Amendment."
According to Addison Central Supervisory Union Superintendent Lee Sease, Youth Alive stated that, as a form of government, schools cannot prohibit or establish religious groups, in keeping with the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. "We are not prohibiting them from using our facilities and putting up posters, nor are we standing in the way of their religious practices," said Sease.
When first contacted by Youth Alive for official status, MUHS worked in conjunction with Elizabeth Grant of Grant Norten, PLLC in Montpelier, to draft a response. "We wanted to make sure we were doing what was legally right from the start," said Sease. In an Aug. 21 letter denying the club official recognition, MUHS principal William Lawson wrote, "Club status would mean that Youth Alive's activities would become school-sponsored with monetary support and an advisor assigned."
"We followed case law," said Sease in a recent interview. "This is not about opinion, it is about what we legally can and cannot do."
Cortman disagreed with Sease's argument, contending that there is a legal precedent for the creation of the Christian club. He cited the 1990 United States Supreme Court case Board of Education of Westside Community Schools v. Mergens, in which a Christian club at the Omaha, Neb. school was denied the same privileges as other co-curricular clubs. The court held in an 8-1 decision that such restrictions were prohibited under the Equal Access Act and protected the club's formation.
The Arizona-based Christian advocacy group Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) represents the student, who is referred to in court documents only as "V.O." ADF Senior Legal Counsel David Cortman stated on the ADF's Web site that "granting official recognition to other non-curriculum related student clubs while denying this one solely on the basis of religion is a violation of the [federal] Equal Access Act and the First Amendment."
According to Addison Central Supervisory Union Superintendent Lee Sease, Youth Alive stated that, as a form of government, schools cannot prohibit or establish religious groups, in keeping with the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. "We are not prohibiting them from using our facilities and putting up posters, nor are we standing in the way of their religious practices," said Sease.
When first contacted by Youth Alive for official status, MUHS worked in conjunction with Elizabeth Grant of Grant Norten, PLLC in Montpelier, to draft a response. "We wanted to make sure we were doing what was legally right from the start," said Sease. In an Aug. 21 letter denying the club official recognition, MUHS principal William Lawson wrote, "Club status would mean that Youth Alive's activities would become school-sponsored with monetary support and an advisor assigned."
"We followed case law," said Sease in a recent interview. "This is not about opinion, it is about what we legally can and cannot do."
Cortman disagreed with Sease's argument, contending that there is a legal precedent for the creation of the Christian club. He cited the 1990 United States Supreme Court case Board of Education of Westside Community Schools v. Mergens, in which a Christian club at the Omaha, Neb. school was denied the same privileges as other co-curricular clubs. The court held in an 8-1 decision that such restrictions were prohibited under the Equal Access Act and protected the club's formation.
Viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 2
Noname
posted 11/02/07 @ 2:02 PM EST
This young woman had every right to start a club. No one is being forced to join, and isn't occurring during school hours. What's the problem?
molleyk
posted 11/05/07 @ 12:26 PM EST
I wish someone had sued when the gay-straight alliance was denied at my high school.
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