Court orders California school district to allow Christian ministry to meet after school
Caroline MolloyA California school district must allow a Christian evangelization ministry to hold religious educational meetings at public schools after school hours, a judge ordered Aug. 15.
EdSource reported that the Child Evangelism Fellowship (CEF) sued the Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) in December 2024 after the district refused to let the ministry meet on school property because of its religious nature. According to a news release from Liberty Counsel, which represented CEF, the ministry had met at public schools in the district before the COVID-19 pandemic. Its meetings were suspended when the district canceled all clubs in 2020.
Liberty Counsel said that elementary school officials denied CEF’s requests to resume its meetings in 2023, claiming that CEF was not a “good match” and explaining that they were “not in support of Evangelism on our campus.” Officials also reportedly told CEF that there was no space for its meetings – even though available space was listed online.
According to the San Francisco Chronicle, CEF’s lawyers argued in December 2024 that OUSD was “showing hostility towards the religious identity, speech, and viewpoint” of CEF. Liberty Counsel stated that OUSD argued that permitting the ministry to use school property for its meetings would have violated the Establishment Clause, but US District Judge Haywood Gilliam disagreed.
“It is not clear how much of a dispute actually exists here,” Gilliam stated in his order for a preliminary injunction, later continuing, “The Court finds that the law and facts clearly favor Plaintiff’s position that OUSD violated CEF’s free speech rights.”
Gillam’s injunction requires OUSD to give CEF the same rights and privileges as other clubs. According to Liberty Counsel, attorneys will seek a permanent injunction against OUSD to ensure that CEF can continue holding meetings on public school property.
