Good News Club Wins Preliminary Injunction On Facilities Fee

In Child Evangelism Fellowship of Virginia v. Williamsburg-James City County School Board, (ED VA, Aug. 8, 2008), a Virginia federal district court granted a preliminary injunction barring the school board from charging a facilities usage fee to the Good News Club for its after-school Bible study and enrichment program. The court found that CEF suffered irreparable harm and had a high likelihood of success on the merits. School board policy grants fee waivers to various community organizations, but not to religious groups. The policy granting the superintendent authority to waive fees was, according to the court, vague and gave unfettered discretion that could be used to discriminate on the basis of viewpoint. Relying on 4th Circuit precedent, the court concluded that "a fee-waiver given arbitrarily to non-religious organizations by school administrators under the guise of enforcing a vague policy is a violation of a religious organization's First Amendment rights." Liberty Counsel, which represents plaintiff, today issued a release on the decision.