ACLJ Files Federal Suit Against San Diego School District for Rejecting Church Plea to Advertise Seminars That Deal With School Violence.

Business Editors

SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 5, 2001

The American Center for Law and Justice, an international public interest law firm, announced today it has filed suit in U.S. District Court in San Diego, CA against the San Diego Unified School District after school officials repeatedly rejected requests from a local pastor and church to advertise seminars dealing with parenting and school violence.

"This discriminatory action by the school district is not only wrong, it is unconstitutional," Stuart J. Roth, Senior Counsel of the ACLJ, which filed the suit. "The school district permits other community organizations to advertise and promote its activities - but when it comes to this church - the school district rejects the request because the church is a religious organization. Religious organizations must receive equal treatment under the law and that clearly has not occurred in this situation. It is particularly troubling that a church that wanted to help the San Diego community deal with the trauma and tragedy of recent school violence was spurned and discriminated against."

The ACLJ filed suit late yesterday in U.S. District Court in San Diego on behalf of Reverend James G. Jerpseth, Pastor of the Atonement Lutheran Church in San Diego. The suit contends that Rev. Jerpseth repeatedly requested permission from February to July 2001 to post promotional materials on bulletin boards at local schools - advertising a series of seminars that were designed to combat school violence and address other issues facing parents and students. The seminars included instruction for parents and students on a variety of community issues from a biblical perspective.

The seminars included titles like "How to Spot a Troubled Kid: Stopping the Violence" and "Be a Better Parent."

The lawsuit charges that the school district rejected the requests from Rev. Jerpseth because the school district contends the church was not a community-based organization and that no material containing the name of a religious organization could be posted or distributed.

The suit names as defendants the San Diego Unified School District, its Superintendent of Public Education, and the president and members of the Board of Education. The suit claims the actions taken by the school district violate the First and Fourteenth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution and also violate the California Constitution.

The ACLJ has asked the court to declare the actions of the school district invalid and unconstitutional and has asked that the court issue an injunction preventing the discriminatory behavior from continuing.

Roth says this case is about equal access - an issue that has been repeatedly addressed by the U.S. Supreme Court. "For the second time in less than 10 years, the U.S. Supreme Court has recently ruled that school districts cannot discriminate against religious organizations because of their religious message. If a school district opens its facilities for use to other community organizations, it cannot deny access to a religious group. We are confident the court will protect the constitutional rights of our client in this case."

On June 11, 2001, in the case of Good News Club v. Milford Central School, the Supreme Court re-affirmed an earlier decision that requires public schools to provide religious organizations with the same equal treatment afforded to other community groups.

The ACLJ is an international public interest law firm that focuses on constitutional issues and religious liberty work. The ACLJ is headquartered in Virginia Beach, VA and its web site address is www.aclj.org.