PUNXSUTAWNEY, Penn. — A Pennsylvania high school wrongly barred a student Bible club from meeting during an activity period before the start of classes, an appellate court ruled July 15.
The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals made the decision after Melissa Donovan, a senior at Punxsutawney Area High School, claimed the school district would not permit FISH, her Bible study group, to meet after school started at 8 a.m., the Associated Press reported. School officials were wrong to prevent the club from meeting during an in-school “activity period” from 8:15 to 8:54 a.m., during which other student groups were permitted to gather, the three-judge panel ruled. “FISH is a group that discusses current issues from a biblical perspective, and school officials denied the club equal access to meet on school premises during the activity period solely because of the club’s religious nature,” Judge Ruggero John Aldisert wrote.
The Rutherford Institute, a Virginia-based civil liberties organization that sued the district with Donovan, welcomed the decision. “The court’s strongly worded opinion should send a message to school districts throughout the country to think twice before excluding religious students,” John W. Whitehead, the institute’s president, said in a statement.
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