Washington school district nixes policy that bans promotion of Good News Club

A school district in Leavenworth, Washington has decided to reverse its policy that forbids a Christian organization from distributing flyers promoting the Good News Club to elementary students.

The Cascade School District banned Child Evangelism Fellowship (CEF) from handing out the promotional flyers last year following a parental complaint, The Christian Post reported.

The school district stated that CEF was in violation of the School Board Policy 2340(F) which stated, "Material and/or announcements promoting religion may not be distributed by non-students or on behalf of groups or individuals who are not students." However, other youth organizations such as Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, Campfire Girls, YMCA and YWCA were not prohibited from disseminating flyers to students in the district.

Last October, Richard L. Mast of the Liberty Counsel sent a letter of complaint to the school district, denouncing the policy as unconstitutional.

Mast noted that the 2001 U.S. Supreme Court decision in the Good News Club v. Milford Central School District case stated that Good News Clubs "must be granted the same access to public school sites as other youth groups engaged in moral and character development such as the Boy Scouts, notwithstanding any religious viewpoint."

The school district reversed the directive and eliminated the policy after it was contacted by the Liberty Counsel.

"The Cascade School District made the appropriate decision to eliminate the unconstitutional policy and recognize that the Good News Club has equal access to students. Public schools cannot discriminate against Christian viewpoints and allow other organizations to promote their materials," said Mat Staver, Founder and Chairman of Liberty Counsel.

CEF is also set to reopen a Good News Club in elementary schools in Cleveland on Feb 2, after it won a three-year lawsuit against the Cleveland Metropolitan School District (CMSD). The school district had previously imposed a facility fee on CEF while allowing free after-school access to non-religious community groups.

The Liberty Counsel filed a federal lawsuit against the school district in 2013, seeking equal access to public school facilities for Good News Clubs. The Ohio federal district court ruled that CMSD had violated the constitutional rights of CEF. The court ordered the school to change its policies regarding the use of its facilities and pay the Christian organization $150,000 in damages and attorney's fees.