On The Front Lines
Third Circuit Court Victory: The Rutherford Institute Protects Free Speech & Equal Access Rights of High School Bible Club
Appeals Court Protects Pennsylvania Bible Club's Right to Meet During School's Activity PeriodPHILADELPHIA--Citing the First Amendment and Equal Access Act, the U. S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit has ruled in favor of a case brought forward by Pennsylvania high school student Melissa Donovan and The Rutherford Institute. Ruling that school officials wrongfully prohibited the student Bible Club from meeting during the school's regular activity period, the court declared that the student "activity period" qualified as "non-instructional time" under the Equal Access Act. The court also determined that school officials violated Donovan's constitutional rights, stating, "When [Punxsutawney] denied the Bible Club access to the school's limited public forum on the ground that the Club was religious in nature, it discriminated against the Club because of its religious viewpoint in violation of the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment."
For the past six years, members of the Punxsutawney Area High School Bible Club were forced to meet prior to the start of the school day, rather than during the school's regular activity period. Other student groups, such as the Ski Club and Students Against Drunk Driving, have been allowed to meet during the activity period. School officials also prohibited members of the Bible Club from advertising in the school bulletin and from exercising privileges extended to students in other clubs. After several unsuccessful attempts to resolve the matter, Melissa Donovan, president of the Punxsutawney Area High School Bible Club, and other club members contacted The Rutherford Institute for assistance. Although the school's legal counsel believed the activity period to be "instructional" time, Institute attorneys disagreed. Citing cases in which courts defined periods during the official school day such as lunch period, library period and homeroom period as non-instructional time, Institute attorneys insisted that the activity period is subject to federal law requiring equal access for student Bible clubs. The Third Circuit's ruling comes in response to the appeal of a 2002 district court judgment in favor of the Punxsutawney Area School District's claim that it had the authority to require the Bible Club to meet before school. The original complaint, filed in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, charged Punxsutawney school officials with violating the federal Equal Access Act of 1984, which permits student-initiated religious groups to meet on school grounds during non-instructional time. Institute attorneys argued that the school violated the Bible Club members' First Amendment rights of freedom of speech and free exercise of religion.
"On behalf of Melissa Donovan, the members of her Bible Club and many thousands of students like them who have been told their faith is not welcome on the same basis as other non-religious beliefs, The Rutherford Institute is grateful that the appeals court saw through the same old, tired arguments the school district used to justify its discrimination," said John W. Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute. "The court's strongly-worded opinion should send a message to school districts throughout the country to think twice before excluding religious students."
The Rutherford Institute is an international, nonprofit civil liberties organization committed to defending constitutional and human rights.
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