Liberty Counsel, a Christian legal advocacy group, presented evidence at a preliminary injunction hearing Feb. 27 on behalf of Child Evangelism Fellowship (CEF), which was repeatedly denied access to public school facilities by an Oakland, California, school district.

CEF holds Good News Clubs, which provide weekly Christian programs across all U.S. states for children ages 5-12 who have received written permission from parents to attend.

Over 30 schools in the East Bay held Good News Clubs across four campuses before the COVID 2020 shutdown. The ministry sought to resume its Good News Clubs in early 2023 and submitted facility use applications through Oakland Unified School District’s (OUSD) Facilitron system.

Although OUSD Administrative Regulation 1330 specifies that facilities in the district can be used for supervised recreation events “including, but not limited to, sports league activities that are arranged for and supervised by entities, including religious organizations or churches, and in which youths may participate regardless of religious belief or denomination,” elementary school offices across the district denied their requests for access.

The complaint documented seven accounts of the school’s denial. One elementary school stated, “We do not think that Good News Club is a match.” After CEF requested an explanation, the school’s principal stated that “we are not in support of Evangelism on our campus.” Another school responded, saying that “we cannot have any bible clubs at school. Sorry.”

CEF also applied to join OUSD’s community partnership forum as a community partner. Korede Adeniji-Grimsley, east bay director of CEF, met with the program manager at the Office of Expanded Learning on August 28, 2023. The complaint states that the manager informed CEF “that it was very unlikely that the District would approve a partnership application for CEF due to its religious programming.” Their request has remained pending.

On Dec. 11, 2024, Liberty Counsel filed a lawsuit on behalf of CEF. The complaint states, “CEF seeks a judgment declaring Defendants’ discriminatory use policies unconstitutional, both on their face and as applied, under the Free Speech, Establishment, and Free Exercise Clauses of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. CEF also seeks preliminary and permanent injunctive relief against enforcement of Defendants’ policies, together with damages, costs, and attorney’s fees.”

The court heard the preliminary injunction on Feb. 27 but has not yet issued a ruling. In an email to Decision magazine, Mat Staver, Liberty Counsel Founder and Chairman, stated that Liberty Counsel is confident CEF will win the injunction. The court also asked CEF and OUSD to decide on and propose an injunction. The judges stated that the case will be brought back to court for a final ruling if an injunction is not agreed upon.

Liberty Counsel is also representing CEF in a legal case against the Hawaii Department of Education for its denial of Good News Clubs in schools and recently gained a permanent injunction for CEF. Approximately 200 CEF cases have been represented and won by Liberty Counsel.

Staver believes past rulings favor CEF’s case.     

“The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that public schools cannot discriminate against Christian viewpoints regarding use of school facilities,” Staver said. “Therefore, the Oakland Unified School District must give the Good News Clubs equal access and treatment as the similarly situated non-religious groups on public school campuses. Child Evangelism Fellowship gives children a biblically based education that includes moral and character development. Good News Clubs should be in every public elementary school, and that includes these Oakland schools.”

Photo: Alamy