LOS ANGELES — A California District Court has found that a policy limiting access of the Good News Club, a religious after-school club for school children, to facilities in the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) is unconstitutional.
In October 2001 Nancy Thomason, director of the San Fernando Valley chapter of Child Evangelism Fellowship, which organizes the clubs, had asked permission from LAUSD to have a Good News Club meeting at the Chase Street Elementary School in Panorama City. While LAUSD policy allows groups or individuals to use school facilities to meet for a wide variety of purposes, it forbids “sectarian or denominational religious exercises or activities.” Because Good News Club offers a Christian message, Thomason was denied the use of the building, even though the district permits groups like the Boy Scouts to use the facilities free of charge.
Religious groups are only allowed to use school facilities through LAUSD’s Real Estate Branch and must pay an application and rental fee. After the Good News Club was denied the right to use the facilities for free, Thomason applied through the Real Estate Branch but was again denied access because of the club’s religious purpose.
The district court decision overruled the LAUSD’s finding, giving Thomason’s club immediate access to the building.
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