A win for the good guys
An Ohio federal district court ruled last week that the Cleveland Metropolitan School District (CMSD) had to stop discriminating against religious groups, a common practice across the country today.
The school district was providing free after-school access to nonreligious community groups, such as the Boy Scouts, but would not give the Child Evangelism Fellowship’s Christian character Good News Clubs equal access. Instead, the district imposed facility fees on the group, which could not pay them and shut down.
In 2013, Liberty Counsel, on behalf of Child Evangelism Fellowship, filed a federal lawsuit seeking equal access.
With the ruling, the school district must change its policies to ensure religious groups are not discriminated against and will receive the same access and benefits at public facilities as nonreligious groups.