Nearly 25 years after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that schools must treat religious after-school programs exactly the same as secular ones, progressive districts continue to defy the law — and continue to lose in court.
A federal judge has ordered the Oakland Unified School District to grant Good News Clubs the same access to its campuses as other after-school programs, marking an important victory for local Christians who argued that public schools were discriminating against them.
U.S. District Judge Haywood S. Gilliam Jr. issued a preliminary injunction this week requiring the district to allow Child Evangelism Fellowship’s Good News Clubs to meet on school grounds on the same terms as nonreligious activities. The order, which follows a lawsuit filed last year, is the first legal step in a case that could ultimately secure permanent access for the clubs.
“The law and facts clearly favor” the claim that the district violated free speech protections, Gilliam wrote in his ruling. He rejected Oakland Unified’s argument that hosting the clubs would breach the Constitution’s Establishment Clause, citing Supreme Court precedent that schools cannot exclude religious groups if they make their facilities available to secular ones.
Good News Clubs are offered after school and provide Gospel-centered teaching and Bible-focused activities to encourage learning, spiritual growth, and service to others, as well as social, emotional, character, and leadership development. The program is free, but parents must provide written permission for children to attend.
Nonetheless, the Oakland Unified repeatedly denied applications to hold Good News Club meetings on four campuses, often citing the clubs’ religious character or refusing to provide a reason, and some requests went unanswered for nearly two years.
In response, Liberty Counsel filed a lawsuit in December 2024 on behalf of Christian Evangelism Fellowship’s NorCal East Bay chapter.
According to court filings, district officials at times stated that the clubs were not a “good match” for campuses or wrote, “we are not in support of Evangelism on our campus.” Other denials pointed to a lack of space, even when rooms were listed as available. The district also rejected a “community partnership” application because of the group’s religious programming, according to the plaintiffs.
Liberty Counsel argued that these decisions directly violated the 2001 Supreme Court ruling in Good News Club v. Milford Central School, which held that public schools cannot bar Christian clubs from meeting if they permit outside secular organizations to use the same facilities.
Before the pandemic, Good News Clubs had been active in Oakland schools for years. The fellowship suspended meetings in 2020 as part of COVID-19 lockdown measures. When CEF sought to resume meetings in 2023, the district refused every request.
Gilliam’s injunction allows the clubs to immediately begin holding weekly meetings alongside other after-school programs such as Girls on the Run and the Berkeley Chess School. Like those groups, the clubs operate after regular classes end, are not sponsored by the school, and require parental consent for students to attend.
The ruling was welcomed by Liberty Counsel, which has represented Child Evangelism Fellowship in similar cases across the country.
Liberty Counsel Founder and Chairman Mat Staver said,
“This is a great victory for Child Evangelism Fellowship, parents, and the students in Oakland public schools. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that public schools cannot discriminate against Christian viewpoints regarding use of school facilities. Child Evangelism Fellowship gives children a biblically based education that includes moral and character development. Good News Clubs should be in every public elementary school.”
Founded in 1937, Child Evangelism Fellowship is an international Christian nonprofit that runs programs for children and families in over 200 countries. Its Good News Clubs are typically led by trained volunteers and meet once a week, offering Bible lessons, songs, games, and character development activities rooted in Christian teaching.
Opponents have at times questioned whether the clubs blur the line between church and state, but the Supreme Court has consistently ruled that public schools must treat religious and nonreligious groups equally once facilities are opened for community use.
Oakland Unified has not issued a detailed response to the injunction but argued in court filings that granting access could create confusion among parents and students about the school’s endorsement of religious activity. Legal experts say the case will likely proceed to a full trial unless the district appeals the preliminary injunction.
The ruling also comes on the heels of similar litigation in other states. Last July, a federal court directed the Hawaii Department of Education and six elementary schools to allow Good News Clubs to operate, following a lawsuit by Child Evangelism Fellowship. Courts have issued comparable decisions in other states, reinforcing the precedent set in 2001.
For supporters of the clubs in Oakland, the injunction ensures that Good News Clubs will be able to meet again in Oakland schools after a five-year absence.
It’s been nearly a quarter century since the Supreme Court ruled in Good News Club v. Milford Central School that religious clubs have just as much right to operate on public school grounds as any other secular club, and yet progressive school districts continue to openly defy that ruling and the Constitution.
Fortunately, Liberty Counsel, Christian Evangelism Fellowship, and its supporters have not retreated nor been deterred by the ongoing battle, despite its steep costs. Instead, they have heeded God’s call for His people to stand firm in the public square for the sake of the Gospel.
The Good News Club’s legal fight demonstrates that faith should not be hidden away. Instead, Scripture calls believers to be “the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden” (Matthew 5:14). When doors close, as they did for years in Oakland, God can open them again in ways that show His sovereignty and faithfulness.
For nearly five years, volunteers and families associated with Child Evangelism Fellowship in Oakland persevered in prayer and action as they sought to return the programming to the local schools, even as they were repeatedly denied. The Bible encourages persistence: “Let us not grow weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up” (Galatians 6:9).
The outcome that has once again take place in court reflects that truth.
This ruling also points to a broader calling for Christians to engage with culture respectfully and boldly. The presence of Good News Clubs in schools gives children an opportunity to hear about God’s love in a setting where character development and moral guidance are desperately needed. Parents, volunteers, and local churches have a chance to model Christ’s compassion while sharing the hope of the Gospel.
In a public education system that is increasingly bent on indoctrinating children with a secular worldview that brings nothing but chaos and destruction, Christians must step forward and use the freedoms that God has granted them as citizens of a free country. Equal access means opportunity, but it also means responsibility. Christians are called not just to defend their rights but to use them to advance God’s kingdom.
That’s what Christian Evangelism Fellowship and its volunteers and supporters have done. And now, this fall, those families in Oakland who want their children to know Christ’s message of hope and grace and to learn to walk the straight and narrow path that leads to life and purpose will find an open door to a Good News Club that provides exactly that.
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