INDIANAPOLIS, IN - Liberty Counsel is presenting argument in federal court today to require an Indiana school district to grant Child Evangelism Fellowship (CEF) equal access to school facilities for the ministry's Good News Clubs. The case, Child Evangelism Fellowship of Indiana, Inc. v. Indiana Metropolitan School District of Pike Township, seeks to secure the same access and benefits for the Good News Clubs that non-religious groups currently enjoy.
In violation of the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution, the school district required CEF to pay facilities use fees for Good News Club meetings, while waiving the fees for similarly situated, non-religious groups. For nearly two school years, the school district ignored CEF's numerous attempts to resolve the constitutional violations, depriving Pike Township elementary students of the Good News Club's program, which CEF offers to all interested students free of charge.
