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A 16-year-old in Omaha, Nebraska, asks to start a Bible study club that would meet in an empty classroom after school, the same way the chess club and the scuba-diving club do. The principal says no. That is close to the exact set of facts the Supreme Court decided in 1990, and the student won. The law behind the case is the Equal Access Act, passed by Congress in 1984, and it applies to a lot more than religious clubs: a Gay-Straight Alliance, a Young Democrats chapter. If the school opens the door to one, it has to open it to the others.
What the law says, in one sentence
The Act, found at 20 U.S.C. 4071, makes it unlawful for any public secondary school that receives federal money and has a 'limited open forum' to deny equal access, or a fair opportunity, to students who want to hold a meeting, based on the religious, political, philosophical, or other content of the speech at that meeting.
A limited open forum is the trigger. A school creates one whenever it lets at least one 'noncurriculum related student group' meet on school premises during noninstructional time, meaning before or after the school day. The moment that happens, the equal access duty switches on.
Note what the law does not cover. It applies to public secondary schools only, not elementary schools, and not private schools.
Mergens: the case that decided what 'noncurriculum related' means
In Board of Education of Westside Community Schools v. Mergens (1990), Westside High School in Omaha let students join about thirty voluntary clubs that met after hours on campus. When Bridget Mergens asked to form a Christian club on the same terms, minus a faculty sponsor, the school board refused, citing the Establishment Clause, the part of the First Amendment that bars the government from setting up or favoring a religion.
The Supreme Court held that the school had violated the Act. The key ruling was about the words 'noncurriculum related.' The Court read them to mean any student group whose subject is not actually taught in a regularly offered course and does not directly relate to the curriculum as a whole. A scuba club called Subsurfers counted, because no class teaches scuba diving. Once even one such club exists, the school has a limited open forum and must let a religious or political club meet too.
The four conditions, and what a school can still do
The Act says a school offers a fair opportunity when it uniformly provides that the meeting is voluntary and student-initiated; that the school and its employees do not sponsor the meeting; that school employees are present at religious meetings only in a nonparticipatory capacity; that the meeting does not materially and substantially interfere with the orderly conduct of educational activities; and that nonschool persons do not direct, conduct, control, or regularly attend the group's activities.
The Act also says it does not limit a school's authority to maintain order and discipline, protect the well-being of students and faculty, and make sure attendance is voluntary. Nobody can be required to join or to take part in prayer.
How to start a club the school cannot refuse
First, find out whether your school already has a limited open forum. Look at the club list on the school website. If there is a chess club, an anime club, a knitting circle, or anything else not tied to a class, the answer is yes.
Second, use the school's own process. Ask the activities office for the club application form and follow it exactly: a student organizer, a short written purpose, a proposed meeting time outside instructional hours, and a faculty member willing to be present as a supervisor.
Third, if the school says no, ask for the reason in writing. If the answer is about your club's subject, the religion, the politics, the viewpoint, that is the reason the Act forbids. Reply calmly, in writing, citing the Equal Access Act and Mergens, and ask the principal to reconsider. If that fails, a parent can take it to the superintendent or the school board, and a legal aid office or a civil liberties organization can send a letter.
Sonje sa
- The Equal Access Act applies to public secondary schools that take federal money and let at least one non-class club meet outside instructional time.
- Once that door is open, the school cannot refuse a student-run club because its content is religious, political, or philosophical.
- Westside v. Mergens (1990) held that a scuba club made the school a limited open forum, so a Christian club had to be allowed too.
- Meetings must be voluntary and student-led, staff may only supervise, and outsiders cannot run the group; use the school's own form and get any refusal in writing.
Sous
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