ALEXANDRIA, Va. — A student barred from starting a student pro-life club on a high school campus will no longer be denied official recognition. In response to a lawsuit filed by Alliance Defense Fund attorneys, the School Board of Stafford County will permit student pro-life clubs at high schools in the district, and the clubs will receive the same rights, benefits, and privileges as other clubs.
“Christian and pro-life students are not second-class citizens; they are entitled to the same rights as any other student or student group on campus,” said ADF Senior Legal Counsel David Cortman. “This is a victory for students who simply want to exercise their First Amendment right to express pro-life speech.”
The student, who attends Colonial Forge High School, requested permission from school officials to start a pro-life club on campus and applied for official recognition of the club. Only officially recognized clubs have access to the school bulletin board, newspaper, and public announcement system, along with the right to participate in student activities, programs, and club fairs.
Stafford County school officials initially denied the student’s application, stating the club did not meet the “standard of a direct curricular link” even though the district had approved other clubs without such a link. ADF attorneys filed suit against the school board Sept. 12 (
www.telladf.org/news/story.aspx?cid=4241).
A copy of the voluntary dismissal filed Wednesday in light of the settlement at the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Alexandria Division, in
S.H. v. School Board of Stafford County is available at
www.telladf.org/UserDocs/SHDismissal.pdf.
“It is discriminatory for school officials to ban a student club based on the content and viewpoints of the group,” said Cortman. “We applaud the school board officials for their decision to allow students who support the sanctity of life the same rights as all other student groups.”
ADF is a legal alliance defending the right to hear and speak the Truth through strategy, training, funding, and litigation.
www.telladf.org