School district with gay group denies student’s request to form ‘Bible club,’ demand letter alleges

The Waterville Central School District in New York allegedly denied a student’s request to form a Bible club despite allowing clubs such as the “Gay Straight Alliance.”

First Liberty Institute and Jones Day law firm sent a demand letter to the school on behalf of eighth-grade student Elijah Nelson, claiming the school violated the First Amendment and the student’s civil rights. Nelson apparently made multiple requests to create the club over a two-year period but staff told him they “cannot have a school-sponsored club associated with a religion meaning that [the school] can’t fund the club or provide an advisor.”

“By denying the same benefits to the Bible club that it provides to all non-curricular clubs, the school has missed the concept of ‘equal’ in the Equal Access Act,” Keisha Russell, senior counsel at First Liberty Institute, said in a press release. “The school’s actions are unconstitutional, and its justification is legally flawed. The Supreme Court has made clear that the Free Exercise Clause protects religious practices by both students and employees in public school settings.”

The letter states that Nelson’s request was unfairly rejected as he followed all the required steps to form a club at the school, including gathering the signatures of interested students and submitting a request form. The school offered to allow the club to meet as an unofficial or nonaffiliated group but refused to “endorse” a religious club.

The school must approve the Bible club by Dec. 11 or face possible litigation, the letter threatens.

There appears to have been a resurgence in the Bible’s public popularity as several states, such as Texas and Oklahoma, move to amp up religious education in public schools by requiring Bible lessons as a supplement to the curriculum. Moreover, Bible sales in the U.S. have skyrocketed recently in a wave some religious leaders are referring to as a “fourth Great Awakening.”

A Pennsylvania school district was sued by students in 2019 after trying to implement a ban on distributing Bibles on campus. More recently, a separate lawsuit forced a Rhode Island school district to allow Christian clubs after requests were initially denied.

The Waterville Central School District did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.

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