Ruling backs church posters in schools

A federal judge has ruled that the San Diego Unified School District discriminated against a church by refusing to let it post advertisements on a series of seminars dealing with school violence and other community issues.
In an opinion issued last week, U.S. District Judge Jeffrey T. Miller said the school district’s policy that barred the Atonement Lutheran Church in San Diego from posting such promotional materials on school bulletin boards is unconstitutional.
A lawsuit filed by the American Center for Law and Justice on behalf of the church and its pastor, the Rev. James D. Jerpseth, said the policy in question prohibited material containing the name of a religious organization from being posted or distributed in the 133,000-student school district in the city of San Diego.
“This is an important victory for our client and the Constitution,” said Stuart J. Roth, senior counsel for ACLJ, an international public-interest law firm that specializes in religious freedom cases.
“This is a case where the school district discriminated against the church by treating it differently than other community organizations,” he said.
A staffer in the communications office of the San Diego Unified School District said Friday she believed the system had not decided whether to appeal the ruling. She referred questions to Jose Gonzales, a school district attorney, who could not be reached for comment.
Mr. Roth said the Atonement Lutheran Church held its series of seminars in 2001 “at a time when the San Diego community was dealing with the trauma and tragedy of school violence.”
Nevertheless, he said, the district repeatedly “rejected a legitimate request from the church to reach out and help.”
“The court correctly determined that this kind of treatment is not only wrong, but unconstitutional.”
The lawsuit pointed out that the seminars in question had nonreligious titles such as “How to Spot a Troubled Kid,” “Stopping the Violence”and “Be a Better Parent.”
In his opinion, Judge Miller granted ACLJ’s request for summary judgment with respect to posting materials on bulletin boards within the school district.
The judge wrote: “This policy would prohibit a religious group access to address a topic addressed by a secular group, even on a topic secular in nature and supportive of school educational goals. Such a policy cannot survive constitutional scrutiny.”
The court still has not ruled on the constitutionality of the San Diego school district’s policy prohibiting the distribution of advertisements about events sponsored by religious organizations.