Tacoma, WA – In response to a demand letter from Liberty Counsel, Tacoma Public Schools has agreed to allow Child Evangelism Fellowship of Tacoma-Pierce (CEF) to use school facilities to hold after-school Good News Club meetings on the same basis as secular clubs that meet in the schools.

Liberty Counsel wrote a letter to the district superintendent, advising the district that the First Amendment requires equal access to school facilities for religiously based, nonprofit youth group meetings such as Good News Clubs. Equal access means that religious groups may use facilities on the same terms and conditions as secular groups, including the amount of usage fees.

Discrimination by the Tacoma Public Schools started in September, when a school official informed Marlene Stoll, the local Ministry Coordinator for CEF, that CEF would be charged each week for one meeting at Geiger and DeLong Elementary schools. For the past seven years, CEF held Good News Clubs in the schools without paying a fee, just like the Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Cub Scouts, booster clubs and similar groups. This fall, the district decided that Good News Clubs were not entitled to the free meeting space provided to other nonprofit groups serving children but would be required to pay a fee, because CEF is religious. After receiving Liberty Counsel's demand letter, the school district’s attorney, Susan Schreurs, contacted Liberty Counsel and agreed to drop the fee request.

Good News Club meetings are after-school enrichment programs for elementary school students. Children attend with the consent of their parents for one hour per week to learn moral values, character qualities, and respect for authority from a biblical perspective. As a result of Liberty Counsel’s letter, CEF can continue its longstanding practice of holding Good News Clubs on school property without being charged.

Mathew D. Staver, Founder of Liberty Counsel and Dean of Liberty University School of Law, commented: "The law on equal access is clear and unequivocal. Equality in access means that religious viewpoints receive equal treatment compared to secular viewpoints on similar subject matters. Equal access demands equality in use of public facilities in terms of space, time, location, and fees. Equal access is a simple concept that public administrators ought to learn quickly."