Judge grants ADF motion for preliminary injunction in favor of FCA club denied recognition on campus

KANSAS CITY, Kan. — A federal judge Friday granted a motion made by Alliance Defense Fund attorneys that will require Pleasanton School District officials to officially recognize a Christian student group while its lawsuit advances in court.  The district’s schools must also allow Fellowship of Christian Athletes clubs the same privileges offered to other student groups on the district’s campuses.

“Christian students should not be treated as second-class citizens on campus,” said ADF Senior Legal Counsel Joel Oster.  “Officials at the Pleasanton Unified School District refused to recognize the Fellowship of Christian Athletes simply because it’s a religious club.  The ruling Friday will allow FCA to have all of the privileges afforded to other student groups while the case moves forward.”

Officially recognized student clubs on campus enjoy privileges which include the use of school facilities for special events at no charge, the use of school vehicles for trips, the ability to fundraise on campus, and inclusion in the school yearbook.  In October 2005, when FCA requested permission to hold an after-school rally on campus at Pleasanton High School, officials said that FCA would be charged a fee to hold the activity even though other student groups are not charged such fees.

ADF filed suit on behalf of FCA in the case McKee v. Pleasanton Unified School District in the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas in September.

“To demand that FCA students have to pay a fee to hold a rally when other student groups are allowed to hold rallies free of charge is unfair treatment under the law,” said Oster.  “How disappointing it is that we’ve come to a point in America where Christian groups on campus have to go to court just to be treated fairly by school officials.”

ADF is a legal alliance of Christian attorneys and like-minded organizations defending the right of people to freely live out their faith. Launched in 1994, ADF employs a unique combination of strategy, training, funding, and litigation to protect and preserve religious liberty, the sanctity of life, marriage, and the family.