A federal judge has compelled a California school district to provide Good News Clubs with the same access to school campuses as other after-school programs.
U.S. District Judge Haywood S. Gilliam Jr. issued a preliminary injunction requiring the Oakland Unified School District to permit the Child Evangelism Fellowship’s Good News Clubs to use school facilities on equal terms with nonreligious groups, according to Liberty Counsel.
The lawsuit was initiated in December 2024 by Liberty Counsel on behalf of CEF NorCal East Bay after the district rejected applications for club meetings across four campuses.
In his ruling, Judge Gilliam stated that “the law and facts clearly favor” the claim that the district had violated free speech protections.
He dismissed the argument that allowing Good News Clubs to meet on campuses would violate the Establishment Clause, citing U.S. Supreme Court precedent that schools cannot exclude religious clubs if secular groups are allowed access.
The decision ensures that Good News Clubs will be able to hold weekly meetings under the same conditions as activities such as Girls on the Run and Berkeley Chess School, which are permitted in the district’s schools.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, CEF NorCal East Bay had regularly hosted Good News Clubs on district campuses. All meetings were canceled in spring 2020 due to lockdown measures. When the group sought to resume activities in 2023, the district repeatedly denied the applications.
In some instances, officials stated that the clubs were not a “good match” and added, “we are not in support of Evangelism on our campus.” The district also cited a lack of space, even when rooms were available, and declined to process a “community partnership” application because of the group’s religious content.
In 2001, the Supreme Court ruled in Good News Club v. Milford Central School that public schools cannot prevent Christian clubs from meeting on equal terms when facilities are opened to outside groups. Liberty Counsel argued that the Oakland district’s actions directly violated this precedent.
Last July, a federal court in Hawaii similarly ordered the Hawaii Department of Education and six elementary schools to allow Good News Clubs to operate on campuses like any other club.
