Evangelical group says PPSD won't let them start a 'Good News Club.' Now, they're suing.

PROVIDENCE – Good News Clubs promise students Biblical storytelling, games, songs and life lessons, but would-be organizers say they’ve been blocked from hosting the after-school gatherings in Providence public schools for two years – in violation, they say, of their free speech and equal protection rights.

Now, the Child Evangelism Fellowship of Rhode Island is suing the Providence Public School District and Superintendent Javier Montañez in federal court, alleging the district is driven by hostility toward the group’s religious message in denying elementary school students access to “free, positive and character-building” Good News Clubs. The clubs, they say, enrich students’ lives by providing religious teachings and other activities that encourage spiritual growth and service to others, as well as social, emotional and leadership development.

“They continue to deny equal access to Good New Clubs … You cannot discriminate based on a Christian viewpoint,” said Mathew Staver, lead lawyer for Orlando-based Liberty Counsel, a “Christian ministry that proclaims, advocates, supports, advances, and defends the good news that God in the person of Jesus Christ paid the penalty for our sins and offers forgiveness and eternal life to all who accept him as Lord and Savior.”

Child Evangelism Fellowship of Rhode Island is asking U.S. District Court Judge Mary S. McElroy to declare the district’s policies unconstitutional and to require the district to accommodate the Good News Clubs.

“This is a classic denial that the [U.S.] Supreme Court has already addressed,” Staver said, referring to a 2001 high court ruling in Good News Clubs v. Milford Central School. The court ruled in that case that New York school officials could not deny the use of its facilities to an evangelical Christian club for children based on the group’s viewpoint while allowing access to other groups with similar missions.

Providence Schools declined to comment through a spokesman, saying the matter is in litigation.

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What are Good News Clubs and what districts in Rhode Island have them?

According to the lawsuit, Good News Clubs typically are led by volunteer teachers once a week without regard for students' religious beliefs, as long as they have their parents' permission.

The Child Evangelism Fellowship of Rhode Island’s website identifies teachers as “Concerned Christians who want to share the love of God and the message of Jesus Christ [who] work together volunteering their time and energy to prepare and train to teach children in Good News Clubs.” About 90 students participate in elementary and middle school clubs in Coventry, Cranston and Chariho, with more than 4,800 clubs nationwide, Staver said.

“It’s a huge opportunity that’s a very big benefit to the child and his parents. They’re a positive influence,” Staver said.

Lawsuit: District allows other organizations to use school facilities

Providence schools allowed a Good News Club at William D’Abate Elementary School for the 2019-2020 school year. Leaders say 48 children signed up, but the program could accommodate only 20 due to space. The program was canceled with COVID pandemic shutdowns.

In August 2021, CEF Rhode Island board Chairman Ryan Baker met with Providence school officials about resuming the D’Abate club and starting a new club at Leviton Elementary Dual Language School in Providence. Nick Figueroa, chief of family and community engagement, asked repeatedly how the club would accommodate non-Christian participants, to which Baker said the clubs welcomed children of all religious beliefs and backgrounds, according to the suit.

In September, Baker provided a program overview, sample lesson and curriculum, along with a legal memo explaining why such clubs are allowed. He was told that Figueroa would speak with the superintendent.

In the nearly two years since, lawyers for CEF RI have sent repeated demand letters, but received few if any responses, even with inquiries also coming from D’Abate Principal Brent Kermen, according to the suit.

In June, 2022 CEF RI’s state director Alan Snow submitted another proposal for the club, followed by a Jan. 4 letter to Montañez. To date, CEF RI has not received a response, the suits said.

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The district has allowed numerous other organizations the free use of its facilities for afterschool programs, such as the Boys & Girls Clubs, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts and Girls on the Run without imposing similar hurdles while denying the Good New Clubs, Staver argues.

“It’s important for all of us to have free speech and equal access,” Staver said.

'The goal is to get them when they're young'

Rebecca S. Markert, legal director for the Freedom From Religion Foundation, said Monday that she is very familiar with Good News Clubs.

Such clubs are allowed to meet on school property as long as they follow school guidelines. The schools must establish a bright line distinguishing when the school day ends and the clubs begin, a prospect that can become murky if teachers also oversee the clubs, she said.

“Those lines get very blurry. We get a lot of complaints about these clubs because parents are confused," said Markert, who earned a law degree from Roger Williams University School of Law.

Some club events are billed as pizza or cupcake parties, making them very alluring to young children, in particular.

“The goal is to get them when they're young so they can start proselytizing," Markert said. "The clubs are permitted as long as parameters are followed, and those parameters get pretty squishy when you’re dealing with elementary students."

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Evangelical group sues Providence School District over Good News Clubs