2nd Circuit: TRO On Church Use of Schools Only Applies To One Church

As previously reported, on Thursday a New York federal district court issued a temporary restraining order in the long-running case of Bronx Household of Faith v. New York City Board of Education, temporarily barring the Board of Education from enforcing a Chancellor's Regulation precluding use of school buildings for religious worship. Yesterday, the U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals issued an order (full text) in the case, clarifying that the TRO applies only to evicting Bronx Household of Faith, and does not apply to protect other churches that are not parties to the litigation. However the Circuit Court refused to stay the TRO as it applies to Bronx Household of Faith. Reporting on the 2nd Circuit order, New York Law Journal says that the city and some 50 religious groups had understood the TRO to apply to churches using any public school, and a number of churches were scrambling to get permits for this Sunday.