MOLINE, IL – Liberty Counsel filed a lawsuit on behalf of Child Evangelism Fellowship (CEF) of Illinois against the Moline-Coal Valley Community Unified School District for unlawfully denying Good News Clubs equal access to three elementary school facilities while allowing similar non-religious organizations.
The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court of Central Illinois, also names Superintendent Dr. Rachel Savage and the district’s Board of Education on account of more than five years of unconstitutional religious discrimination by the district against CEF’s after school programs.
Liberty Counsel seeks a permanent injunction declaring the district’s policy actions against CEF unconstitutional as well as an order for the district to restore equal access to the Good News Clubs on elementary school campuses.
Since 2020, the district has classified CEF as a “Category II” church‑affiliated group requiring it to pay facility‑use fees. Then, since the return of the clubs on campus in December 2021, the school district has charged CEF to use campus facilities. In addition, the Good News Clubs have been prohibited from sending flyers home with students and have been excluded from the district’s “backpack nights” while similarly situated nonreligious organizations (Category I groups), such as the Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, Girls on the Run, and Little League, have had full access to the same forums free of charge and without any restrictions. This discriminatory treatment violates the First Amendment’s Free Speech, Free Exercise, and Establishment Clauses, the Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause, and the Illinois Religious Freedom Restoration Act.
CEF is also asking the court for an order that grants them:
- equal access to literature distribution, and backpack night events.
- a refund of more than $5,300 in discriminatory facility-use fees previously paid.
- a rewrite of district policies to include neutral, objective standards that do not consider religious viewpoints.
- damages, attorneys’ fees, and other relief deemed appropriate by the court.
According to the filing, the Good News Clubs had free equal access from 2017 to 2020 after which a sudden shift took place where the district started imposing fees and restrictions. Over time, Dr. Savage refused to accept legal materials outlining CEF’s rights and insisted that she was bound by Board policies, despite the policies giving her discretion to waive fees. Meanwhile, the district has ignored multiple letters from CEF seeking resolution and equal treatment.
Essentially, the school district’s religious discrimination has turned CEF into a “constitutional orphan” by denying it equal treatment alongside secular groups, wrote Liberty Counsel.
However, the law clearly does not allow schools to impose such unlawful prior restraints or give officials “unbridled discretion” to approve or deny access based on religious content—something the courts have already declared to be unconstitutional and unlawful content-based restrictions, reads the lawsuit.
CEF of Illinois is a non-profit organization and subsidiary of Child Evangelism Fellowship Inc., an international non-profit children’s ministry. CEF Good News Clubs has a positive impact on the lives of children and their families. Good News Clubs typically meet once per week, immediately after school, and are led by trained and vetted local community volunteers. The clubs provide religious and other teaching and activities to encourage learning, spiritual growth, and service to others, as well as social, emotional, character, and leadership development. Good News Clubs do not charge any fee and welcome children with written permission from parents.
Liberty Counsel has represented approximately 400 CEF cases nationally and has never lost a case involving Good News Clubs.
Liberty Counsel Founder and Chairman Mat Staver said, “The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that public schools cannot discriminate against Christian viewpoints regarding use of school facilities. The Moline-Coal Valley Community Unified School District must give the Good News Clubs equal access as the similarly situated non-religious groups on public school campuses. Child Evangelism Fellowship gives children a biblically based education that includes moral and character development. Good News Clubs should be in every public elementary school and that includes these Moline schools.”