ACLJ Gets Oregon School District to Change Policy That Discriminated against Student Bible Club.PORTLAND, Ore. -- The American Center The American Center is a high-rise tower in Southfield, Michigan. It was built in 1975 and stands at 26 floors, with one basement floor, for a total of 27. The building's main use is that of a typical office tower. It also includes a parking garage and retail spaces. for Law and Justice, which specializes in constitutional law, today announced that a school district in Oregon that was sued for a discriminatory dis·crim·i·na·to·ry adj. 1. Marked by or showing prejudice; biased. 2. Making distinctions. dis·crim policy targeting student Bible clubs has changed its policy - ensuring that student religious clubs will now receive the same treatment afforded to other student groups. "We are pleased that the school district has taken corrective action A corrective action is a change implemented to address a weakness identified in a management system. Normally corrective actions are instigated in response to a customer complaint, abnormal levels if internal nonconformity, nonconformities identified during an internal audit or to comply with the law," said Stuart J. Roth, Senior Counsel of the ACLJ ACLJ American Center for Law and Justice ACLJ Appleseed Center for Law and Justice (Washington, DC) , which filed suit against the school district. "We challenged a policy that was not only unfair but unconstitutional unconstitutional adj. referring to a statute, governmental conduct, court decision or private contract (such as a covenant which purports to limit transfer of real property only to Caucasians) which violate one or more provisions of the U. S. Constitution. as well. The law is very clear: if a school district permits student organizations to meet at school, it cannot discriminate dis·crim·i·nate v. dis·crim·i·nat·ed, dis·crim·i·nat·ing, dis·crim·i·nates v.intr. 1. a. against a student religious group. We are pleased the school district has revised its policy and will now provide student religious groups with the same benefits and privileges afforded to other student organizations. This is an important victory for the First Amendment and for all students in the school district that want to participate in religious clubs." The ACLJ filed suit in U.S. District Court in Portland, Oregon in February 2004 on behalf of Jeffrey Chatterton, a senior at John Marshall High School There are several high schools in the United States named after the early United States politician and Supreme Court Chief Justice John Marshall, including:
tr.v. pro·hib·it·ed, pro·hib·it·ing, pro·hib·its 1. To forbid by authority: Smoking is prohibited in most theaters. See Synonyms at forbid. 2. from using school facilities to display information about his Bible club, Teens Encountering Christ. Chatterton was initially permitted to display a number of items in a school display case in early December 2003 including a Bible, religious books, quotes from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and President Lincoln, and a description of the Bible club. The suit contended that school officials removed the display within days saying the material was "sanctioning sanc·tion n. 1. Authoritative permission or approval that makes a course of action valid. See Synonyms at permission. 2. Support or encouragement, as from public opinion or established custom. 3. religion." The school district recognizes other student organizations including the Chess Club, Table Tennis Club, Outdoor Club, and the Click Photo Club. The ACLJ suit challenged both the actions of the school officials and a school district policy that prohibits official recognition of religious club. The policy states: "Religious clubs or clubs intended to engage in religious exercise or to promote any one religion shall not be chartered." The school district policy also stated that non-chartered clubs could not use school resources to issue announcements or information. The settlement agreement, signed by both parties and filed with the U.S. District Court today, states that the Portland Public School District revised its policy eliminating discriminatory language targeting student religious clubs and agrees to be "permanently enjoined from enforcing any District policy or administrative directive regarding student clubs that denies a religious club equal access to club benefits and privileges in a manner that violates the Equal Access Act or the First Amendment." At the same time, the ACLJ asked the court to dismiss the lawsuit against the school district. The American Center for Law and Justice, specializing in constitutional law, is based in Washington, D.C. and its website address is www.aclj.org. |
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