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1. Good News Club v. Milford Central High School
   – Legal Citation: 533 US 98 (2001)
   – Statement of Facts: Under New York law, Milford Central School policy authorizes district residents to use its building after school for certain activities. Stephen and Darleen Fournier were district residents eligible to use the school’s facilities. They sought approval of their proposed use and sponsorship of the Good News Club, a private Christian organization for children. The Fourniers submitted a request to hold the Club’s weekly afterschool meetings at the school. Milford denied the request reasoning that the proposed use, including singing songs, hearing Bible lessons, memorizing scripture, and praying, was the equivalent of religious worship prohibited by the community use policy. The Club filed suit alleging that the denial violated its free speech rights under the First and Fourteenth Amendments. Ultimately, the District Court granted Milford summary judgment. In affirming, the Court of Appeals held that because the subject matter of the Club’s was “quintessentially religious”, and the activities “fall outside the bounds of pure ‘moral and character development,'” Milford’s policy of excluding the Club’s meetings was constitutional subject discrimination, not unconstitutional viewpoint discrimination.
   – Statement of Issues: Did Milford Central School violate the First Amendment free speech rights of the Good News Club when it excluded the Club from meeting after hours at the school? If a violation occurred, was it justified by Milford’s concern that permitting the Club’s activities would violate the Establishment Clause?
   – Decision and Action: Yes and no, 6-3 in favor of GNC.
   – Reasoning: the Court held that “Milford’s restriction violates the Club’s free speech rights and that no Establishment Clause concern justifies that violation.” “When Milford denied the Good News Club access to the school’s limited public forum on the ground that the Club was religious in nature, it discriminated against the Club because of its religious viewpoint in violation of the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment,” wrote Justice Thomas.
   – Concurring Opinions: Scalia: She highlights that there is no issue of coercion, not even peer pressure. What matters is the compulsion of ideas and the right to exert and receive that private compulsion.
   Breyer: Focuses on the children’s perspective. Do the Good News Club activities make children see the school as endorsing religion? He thinks not and that it is important to note the ideas and perspectives of those who attend
   – Dissenting Opinions: Stevens and Souter, joined by Ginsburg argued that these meetings can be seen as worship, which could influence the youth, create coercions, and violate the Establishment Clause. This club can participate here, and if one doesn’t go then their different and weird

   Reply

2. Case: Good News Club v. Milford Central School (2001) 553 US 98 (2001)

   Facts: The Good News Club was a religious organization prohibited by the Milford school district from using school facilities after school operating hours to conduct religious activities for children. The school district argued that allowing the organization to do so would violate the Establishment Clause since it could be seen as an establishment of religion.

   Issues: Did the school district’s policy violate the organization’s free speech and free exercise of religion?

   Decision: The court held in favor of the Good News Club

   Reasoning: The court ruled that the school district’s policy was discriminatory against the organization’s religious beliefs since the organization intended to use the facilities for religious matters. The school district’s refusal to let the organization use its facilities infringed on the Good News Club’s rights.

   Voting: 6-3

   Summary of Legal principle: Reaffirmed that public schools must remain neutral and cannot discriminate against religious organizations like they would regarding secular groups. The case emphasizes the protection of the First Amendment for everybody, regardless of religious beliefs.

   Reply

3. GOOD NEWS CLUB V. MILFORD CENTRAL SCHOOL

   533 U.S. 98 (2001)

   Facts: In New York State, a group of students in a public school, got together to make an organization called the Good News Club and submitted an application to the school district. The club was religious in nature. However the school district denied the request for the group because of its religious nature. The Club then argued that it was a violation of free speech.

   Issue: Does the school district not allowing the club to exist a violation of free speech?

   Decision: (6-3) the court believed that it is a violation.

   Reasoning: The reasoning of the Supreme Court is that it was a violation of free speech as they were restricting the club from being able to form. There are other groups that were able to be made even if they were religious.

   Reply

4. Good News Club v. Milford Central High School (2001)
   533 U.S. 98 (2001)

   Facts: Milford Central School (Milford) enacted a community use policy, which included a provision that prohibited use of the school building “by any individual or organization for religious purposes.” The policy also stated that any group that “promote[s] the moral and character development of children” may use the school building. The Good News Club (Club) (plaintiff), a private Christian children’s organization, applied to use the school cafeteria for its meetings. The Club stated that its meetings included prayer and learning and reciting Bible verses. Milford denied the Club’s application based on its community use policy, stating that the meetings were “the equivalent of religious worship.” The Club sued Milford.

   Issue: Did Milford Central School violate the First Amendment based on free speech rights of the Good News Club for meeting after hours at the school?

   Decision: The decision was 6-3, the Supreme Court ruled that Milford’s restriction violates the free speech rights and that no establishment clause can justify the violation.

   Reasoning: Based on this, Milford denied the good news club because it discriminated against the club based on their religious viewpoint in violation of the freedom of speech clause by the first amendment.

   Reply

5. Good News Club v. Milford Central High School

   Facts: The Good News Club, a private Christian organization for children, sought to hold after-school meetings at Milford Central School, a public school in New York. The Club’s meetings involved Bible lessons, prayer, and religious songs, aiming to evangelize children. The school denied the Good News Club’s request to use the facilities, citing the school’s policy against religious meetings. The Club sued, arguing that the school had violated its rights under the First Amendment, specifically the Free Speech Clause, by discriminating against them based on the religious nature of their activities.

   Question: Did denying the Good News Club’s request to use school facilities violate the Club’s First Amendment free speech rights, and would allowing the Club to meet at the school violate the Establishment Clause?

   Holding: Yes, the Supreme Court ruled that Milford Central School’s denial of the Good News Club’s request to use school facilities violated the Club’s First Amendment right to free speech. The Court also held that allowing the Club to use the facilities would not violate the Establishment Clause.

   Reasoning: The school argued that allowing a religious group to use public school facilities could be seen as endorsing religion, which would violate the Establishment Clause. However, the Court rejected this argument, stating that merely allowing the Good News Club to use school facilities after hours, on the same terms as other groups, did not amount to government endorsement of religion. The Court reasoned that religious viewpoints must be treated equally with secular perspectives if a public forum is created for after-school activities. Denying access to the Good News Club because of the spiritual content of its activities violated the Free Speech Clause.

   Reply

6. Good News Club v. Milford central High school 2001
   Facts: The good news club sought to use public school facilities after school hours for their Christian club. The district denied their request for the space, saying that it violated school policy which prohibits the use of school property for religious purposes. The prospective club members said that the denial violated the free speech clause of the first amendment.

   Question: Did the denial breach free speech as laid out in the first amendment?

   Decision: Yes, the denial violated free speech. The school created a limited public forum which only allowed non-religious people and discriminated against people looking to speak about religious topics. No establishment clause violation would overrule the breach of free speech clause.

   Reply

7. Good News Club v. Milford Central High School (2001)

   533 US 98 (2001)

   Facts: In 2001, Milford Central School had a policy allowing community groups to use its facilities for activities pertaining to the community’s welfare. Christian organization called the Good News Club attempted to use Milford Central School (public school) for religious practices after school hours. Milford Central denied the Good News Club’s request because the Club’s activities were religious. The school argued that it would be in violation of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. The Good News Club retorted that it infringed on their First Amendment right to freedom of speech and religion.

   Issue: Is it a violation of the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment for Public Schools to deny access to facilitate religious practices on campus?

   Holding: Yes, 6-3

   Reasoning: The Court held that excluding the Good News Club while allowing other groups to use them was discriminatory and a violation of the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment. They stated that since the school had allowed a public forum to be used by any club, denying access for religious reasons was unconstitutional. This contradicts the Lemon Test.

   Significance: The Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment was used instead of the Free Exercise Clause to circumvent the Lemon Test.

   Reply

8. Case: Good News Club v. Milford Central High School, 533 U.S. 98 (2001)

   Facts: In Good News Club v. Milford Central High School, the Good News Club, a Christian organization, sought to use the facilities of Milford Central High School to conduct after-school meetings for children. The school district denied the request based on its policy prohibiting the use of school facilities for religious purposes. The Good News Club argued that this policy violated their rights under the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment, as it was a viewpoint-based exclusion of their expression.

   Issue(s):
   1. Does the denial of access to school facilities for the Good News Club constitute a violation of the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment?
   2. Is it constitutional for a public school to exclude a religious group from using its facilities while allowing other non-religious groups access?

   Rule: The Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment protects the right to free expression, including the right to express religious viewpoints in public forums. A public entity such as a school cannot discriminate against a group because of the religious viewpoint that the group represents.

   Analysis: The Supreme Court, in a decision authored by Justice Clarence Thomas, ruled in favor of the Good News Club. The Court determined that Milford Central High School’s refusal to allow the club to meet on its premises constituted discrimination against religious speech. It emphasized that the school had created a limited public forum by allowing other non-religious organizations to use the facilities but then closed that forum to religious groups. The Court stated that such exclusion was a violation of the Free Speech Clause, as the government must maintain viewpoint neutrality in public forums. The justices argued that allowing the Good News Club to meet did not violate the Establishment Clause, as the club’s activities were voluntary and took place after school hours.

   Conclusion: The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Good News Club, finding that Milford Central High School’s policy violated the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment. This decision underscored the principle that public schools must treat religious and non-religious speech equally in limited public forums, reinforcing the notion that allowing religious groups to use public facilities does not equate to government endorsement of those religious views.

   Reply

9. I. Title: Good News Club v. Milford Central High School

   II. Legal Citation: 533 U.S. 98 (2001)

   III. Facts: Under New York state law, Milford Central School has a policy allowing district residents to utilize its school for specific activities after school hours. Stephen and Darleen Fournier reside within Milford’s district and therefore are eligible to use the school’s facilities as long as their proposed use is approved by the school to host the Good News Club. The club was a private Christian organization for children. However, the school denied them access since they planned to use the facilities for religious activities. The Club alleged that Milford’s denial of its application violated its free speech.

   IV. Issues: Did having the Good News Club at a private school violate the Establishment Clause? Did the school not allowing this club to take place violate the First Amendment’s Freedom of Speech?

   V. Holding: Yes, 6-3.

   VI. Reasoning: The Good News Club seeks nothing more than to be treated neutrally and given access to speak about the same topics as are other groups. Because allowing the Club to speak on school grounds would ensure neutrality, not threaten it, Milford faces an uphill battle in arguing that the Establishment Clause compels it to exclude the Good News Club.

   Reply

10. Good News Club v. Milford Central High School
    533 U.S. 98 (2001)
    Facts: A New York law allows school boards to adopt regulations governing the use of their school facilities. Stephen and Darleen Fournier were within the Milford school district and were allowed to use the school’s facilities as long as they got approval for their use. They submitted a request to sponsor the Good News Club, a private christian organization for children 6-12, and hold weekly afterschool meetings. The superintendent, McGruder, denied the request claiming that the use to have “a fun time singing songs, hearing a Bible lesson and memorizing scripture” was religious worship. The policy prohibitied the use “by any individual or organization for religious purposes.” Mrs. Fournier and her daughter filed suit against the school alleging that the denial of their club violated the free speech rights under the First and Fourteenth Amendments, right to equal protection under the Fourteenth Amendment, and right to religious freedom under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993.
    Issue: Did the Milford school district violate the First Amendment free speech rights of the Good News Club by excluding them from meeting afterschool? If so, was it justified by the school districts concern that permitting the club’s activities would violate the Establishment Clause?
    Decision: 6-3, yes and no.
    Reasoning: The court held that when the club was denied permission to hold meetings afterschool, it was discriminated due to its religious viewpoint, which violated the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment.

    Reply

11. Good News Club v Milford Central School
533 US 98 (2001)

    Facts: The good news club was a Christian organization for children. Their activities include prayer and religious teaching. They wanted to hold meetings ta Milford Central School after hours. Milford did not allow this since they were a religious organization .

    Question: Does Milford Central School denying the Good News club to meet at their school violate the Free Speech Clause?

    Holding: Yes 6-3

    Reasoning: Not allowing the Good News Club to meet was a violating of the free speech clause. They would not be violating the establishment clause since it would not be school sponsored or during school hours.

    Reply

12. I. Good News Club v. Milford Central School

    II. 533 U.S. 98 (2001)

    III. Facts: Milford Central School policy authroized district residents use of its buildings for certain activities under New York law. Stephen and Darleen Fournier were eligible for this; seeking to use these spaces for the Good News Club- a private Christian organization for kids. Denied the request to use the space for afterschool meetings, the club filed suit under the 1st’s Free Speech rights and the 14th’s Due Process Clause. The district court granted Milford summary judgement, and the C.o.A. affirmed as the club was quintessentially religious and the activities fall outside moral and character development. The policy was seen as constitutional subject discrimination rather than viewpoint discrimination.

    IV. Issues: Did the policy violate Free Speech? If so, was it justified by Milford’s concern that allowing the club to use the facilities would violate Establishment?

    V. Decision and Action: Yes and no (6-3), was struck down.

    VI. Reasoning, Per Thomas: Milford’s restriction does violate Free Speech and no Establishment Clause concern justifies that violation. Denying the club under said religious nature, it discriminated because of the religious viewpoint.

    VI. Dissenting, Per Stevens, with Souter and RBG: Allowing a religious group to meet at a public school endorses religion and thus violates Establishment.

    VII. Summary: Free speech violations did include discrimination by religious discrimination through the club’s viewpoint- and thus the Court ruled in favor of the GNC.

    Reply

13. Good News Club v. Milford Central School (2001)

    Facts: The New York Education Law allowed schools to open their facilities for certain community activities after hours. Stephen and Darlene Fournier requested to use Milford Central School’s facilities to host meetings for the Good News Club, a private Christian organization focused on Bible lessons, prayers, and religious activities. The school denied their request, stating that the club’s religious nature violated their policy prohibiting religious worship on school grounds. The Good News Club sued, claiming their free speech rights were being violated.

    Issue: Did the school’s exclusion of the Good News Club violate the First Amendment’s Free Speech Clause?
    Did allowing the club to meet at the school after hours violate the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment?

    Decision: Ruled 6-3 in favor of the Good News Club. As unconstitutional.

    Reason: The Court held that the school’s refusal to allow the club to use its facilities violated the Free Speech Clause. Additionally, the Court found that permitting the club to meet did not violate the Establishment Clause because the meetings were after school hours, voluntary, and open to any student with parental consent.

    Dissent: Justices Stevens, Souter, and Ginsburg disagreed. They argued that allowing a religious group to meet at a public school could be seen as an endorsement of religion, particularly to impressionable young students, thus violating the Establishment Clause. They expressed concerns that students might feel coerced into participation or view the school as endorsing religion.

    Impact: This decision clarified that religious groups cannot be excluded from using public school facilities when other non-religious groups are allowed to use them, as doing so would constitute viewpoint discrimination. The ruling reinforced that religious expression is protected under the Free Speech Clause, even in public spaces, as long as it does not violate the Establishment Clause.

    Reply

14. Title: Good News Club v. Milford Central High School (2001)

    Citation: 533 US 98 (2001)

    Facts: Milford Central School enacted a policy under New Your Law that allowed students and district residents to use its building space for educational and arts curriculum and social, civic, recreational, and programming uses for community welfare. Community residents and sponsors of the Good News Club, a private Christian Religious, were denied permission to use the school building space for their after-school meetings. Milfred school denied the request as the club’s use of the space would be utilized for religious worship – singing songs, hearing Bible lessons, memorizing scripture, and praying- and the school viewed practices as prohibited by the community use policy. The club filed suit against Milton school on the grounds that their denial of the club space was a violation of free speech rights under the First and Fourteenth Amendments. The district court and appellate court sided with Milton HS. They reasoned that the club’s subject matter was inherently religious and rejected the club’s claim that the school provided an unreasonable denial of the request. The SCOTUS granted the club certiorari.

    Legal Question: 1. Whether Milford Central School violated the free speech rights of the Good News Club when it excluded the Club from meeting after hours at the school? 2. Whether any free speech rights violation is justified by Milford’s concern that permitting the Club’s activities would violate the Establishment Clause?

    Holding: Yes and No 6-3

    Reasoning: The Court ruled that Milford’s restriction violates the Club’s free speech rights and that no Establishment Clause concern justifies that violation. The court guided their opinion by two previous rulings in Lamb’s Chapel and Rosenberger- that held exclusions of school films or publications that hold a religious nature constitutes a viewpoint of discrimination. The Court found that Mildred’s denial of the public space for the club to use was based on the club’s religious viewpoint and was a violation of the Free Speech Clause. The court also found that permitting the club to use the school’s space would not have constituted a violation of the Establishment Clause as the club meeting would be held after school hours and not school-sponsored. Therefore, there is little realistic belief that the district endorses a specific religion. “Finally, it cannot be said that the danger that children would misperceive the endorsement of religion is any greater than the danger that they would perceive a hostility toward the religious viewpoint if the Club were excluded from the public forum. Because it is not convinced that there is any significance to the possibility that elementary school children may witness the Club’s activities on school premises, the Court can find no reason to depart from Lamb’s Chapel and Widmar.”

    Reply

15. Good News Club V. Milford Central Highschool (2001)
    533 U.S 98

    Facts: Under New York Law, Milford Central high school allowed its district residents to access its buildings for recreational and welfare usage for the residents. However, when The Fournier residents wanted to host their Good News Club they were denied access to the facility. In which the Fournier’s believed this act violated their rights in free speech under the 1st amendment since it was a Christian club.

    Issue: Did Milford Central highschool violate the first amendment free speech rights of the Good News Club when it prohibited their club meeting after hours in their facilities?

    Holding: Yes, (6-3)

    Reasoning: The Supreme Court ruled it did in fact rule in favor of the Good New Club because the restriction violated their free speech. They also found that the club would not be sponsored by the school and the club would meet during after school hours in which would be open to the public. Justice Thomas concluded that there was no real threat of the clubs affiliation in endorsing/promoting religion.

    Reply

16. Good News Club v. Milford Central High School 533 U.S. 98 (2001)
    Facts: The Good News Club, a Christian organization, sought permission to use Milford Central School’s facilities after school hours for their meetings. School denied the request, citing a policy that prohibited religious activities on school grounds. The Good News Club contended that this denial violated their First Amendment rights.

    Issue: Does public school not allowing religious groups to use their facilities after-hours violate freedom of speech?

    Holding: Yes it does (6-3). The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Christians.

    Reasoning: Since school allows other groups, they must also allow the Christians, in order to not discriminate against them.

    Reply

17. Good News Club v. Milford Central High School (2001)

    Facts: Under New York Law, Milford Central School policy authorizes district residents to use their building after school for certain activities. Stephen and Darleen Fournier submitted a request to hold a Christian Club weekly after school meetings at the school, the school denied.

    Question Did Milford Central School violated the Establishment clause?

    Held: it was a 6-3 opinion delivered by Justice Clarence Thomas, the Court held that “Milford’s restriction violates the Club’s free speech rights and that no Establishment Clause concern justifies that violation.” It discriminated against the club due to its religious viewpoint in violation of the Establishment Clause. As Justice Thomas wrote “When Milford denied the Good News Club access to the school’s limited public forum on the ground that the Club was religious in nature, it discriminated against the Club because of its religious viewpoint in violation of the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment”.

    Reasoning: The Court held that the school’s policy was a form of viewpoint discrimination. Excluding viewpoint based on religion is a violation of the Establishment Clause.

    Reply

18. Facts:
    The Good News Club, a Christian group for children, requested to use Milford Central School’s facilities after school hours to hold their meetings. The school denied the request, citing its policy that prohibited religious activities from being held on school grounds. The Good News Club argued that this violated their First Amendment rights, specifically their right to free speech.

    Issue:
    Does a public school’s refusal to allow a religious group to use its facilities after school hours violate the group’s free speech rights under the First Amendment?

    Holding:
    Yes (6-3). The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Good News Club.

    Reasoning:
    The Court held that the school’s policy was a form of viewpoint discrimination. Since Milford allowed other community groups to use the school facilities for activities such as character development and moral instruction, it could not exclude the Good News Club just because its message was religious in nature. Doing so violated the Club’s right to free speech.

    Reply

19. NAME & LEGAL CITATION
    Good News Club v. Milford Central High School
    533 U.S. 98 (2001)

    FACTS
    Under a New York Law, Milford Central School policy authorizes district residents to use the building after school for certain activities. The Good News Club, a private Christian organization, sought permission to use the facilities for after-school meetings. Milford denied the request because that the proposed uses of the club was equivalent to religious worship prohibited by the community use policy. Good News Club filed a suit and challenged it, arguing that the denial was a violation of free speech rights.

    QUESTION
    Did Milford Central Schoo’s denial violate the First Amendment’s free speech rights of the Good News Club? If a violation occurred, as it justified by Milford’s concern that permitting the Club would violate the Establishment Clause?

    HOLDING
    In a 6-3 decision, the Court ruled that Milford’s restriction violated Good News Club’s free speech rights, and that there would be no endorsement of religion, meaning no Establish Clause violation.

    REASONING
    Opinion delivered by Justice Thomas. The Court reasoned that if a government entity allows other community groups to use the facilities, it cannot exclude groups because of the religious viewpoint expressed. If said groups were to be excluded, that would be discrimination based on their viewpoint(s), which is unconstitutional under the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment.

    Reply

20. Good News Club v. Milford Central High School
    533 U.S. 98 (2001)

    Facts:
    Under New York law, Milford Central School allows district residents to use its building after school for certain activities. Stephen and Darleen Fournier, who lived in the district, were eligible to use the school’s facilities. They asked for approval to host weekly meetings for the Good News Club, a private Christian organization for children. However, the school denied their request, arguing that the activities they planned—such as singing religious songs, reading Bible stories, memorizing scripture, and praying—amounted to religious worship, which was not allowed under the school’s community use policy. The Club sued, claiming that the school’s decision violated their free speech rights under the First and Fourteenth Amendments. The District Court ruled in favor of the school, and the Court of Appeals agreed. The court said that because the Club’s activities were “quintessentially religious” and went beyond “moral and character development,” the school’s decision to exclude the Club was based on the subject of the activities, which was constitutional. It was not an unconstitutional act of viewpoint discrimination.

    Question:
    Did Milford Central School violate the Good News Club’s First Amendment free speech rights by preventing the Club from meeting at the school after hours? If so, was the violation justified by Milford’s concern that allowing the Club’s activities might breach the Establishment Clause?

    Holding:
    Yes, 6-3

    Rationale:
    Justice Clarence Thomas wrote that “Milford’s restriction violates the Club’s free speech rights and that no Establishment Clause concern justifies that violation.” He explained that by denying the Good News Club access to the school’s limited public forum because of its religious nature, Milford discriminated against the Club’s religious viewpoint, violating the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment.

    Reply

21. GOOD NEWS CLUB V. MILFORD CENTRAL SCHOOL,
    533 U.S. 98 (2001)

    III. Facts: The state of New York allows local schools to allow outside use of school facilities. This is specified in N.Y educ Law 414, which allows the use of the school building for instruction in any branch of education and learning of the arts. Secondly, the school is available for social, civic, and recreational meetings pertaining to the welfare of the general public. Stephen and Darlene Fournier use the second part of the law to sponsor a Good News club, which is a private Christian organization. The club involves engagement with religion, reciting bible verses, engaging in religious games, and learning the bible. The Good News Club, after revealing what they do, was forbidden to use school facilities for the purpose of conducting religious study. So they sued, demanding they get access again.
    IV. Issues:
    1.)Does excluding the Good News Club violate the First Amendment’s free speech right?
    2.) Does using public school facilities after school hours to teach and conduct religious activities and institutions violate the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment?

    V. Decision and Action:
    Yes
    No
    VI. Reasoning: Per Thomas
    The court reasons that when a limited public forum is established, the states do not require or allow every type of speech; however, the speech restriction can discriminate based on people’s viewpoints, which occurred here. They reasoned that by applying Lamb’s Chapel, there was viewpoint discrimination. There is not an establishment clause violation because it is held after school hours, not funded by the school open to any student with parental consent it doesn’t violate the establishment clause

    VII. Concurring Opinion: Scalia and Breyer
    Scalia: She highlights that there is no issue of coercion, not even peer pressure. What matters is the compulsion of ideas and the right to exert and receive that private compulsion.
    Breyer: Focuses on the children’s perspective. Do the Good News Club activities make children see the school as endorsing religion? He thinks not and that it is important to note the ideas and perspectives of those who attend

    VIII. Dissenting opinion: Stevens and Souter, joined by Ginsburg
    Argued that these meetings can be seen as worship, which could influence the youth, create coercions, and violate the Establishment Clause. This club can participate here, and if one doesn’t go then their different and weird

    IX. Voting Coalitions:6-3

    X. Summary: Using public facilities for religious purposes after school hours does not violate the Establishment Clause. In fact,, denying and stopping that people are instead is actually a violation of free speech because they can’t engage in a private conversation during a private meeting.

    Reply

22. Good News Club v. Milford Central High School

    Legal Citation: 533 US 98 (2001)

    Statement of Facts: Under New York Law, Milford Central School enacted a policy to allow its district residents to use its building after school for instruction in education, learning or the arts, and social, civic, recreational, and entertainment uses surrounding community welfare. The Fourneirs residents of the district were sponsors of the Good News Club, a private Christian organization for children 6-12. They submitted a request to hold the Club’s meetings weekly after school. Milford denied their request stating that their proposal for use of the building was equivalent to religious worship, which was prohibited by the community use policy. The Club filed suit alleging that the denial violated its free speech rights under the First and Fourteenth Amendments. The district court ruled that the denial was not unconstitutional, and the circuit court affirmed that the policy was “constitutional subject discrimination.” The Court granted cert.

    Statement of Issues: Did Milford Central School violate the free speech rights given by the First Amendment to the Good New Club when it excluded the Club from meeting after hours at the school?

    Holding: Yes, 6-3.

    Reasoning: The Court ruled that Milford’s restriction violated the Club’s free speech rights and that no Establishment Clause concern would justify that violation. Justice Thomas, for the majority, writes that although schools with a limited public forum are not required to allow individuals to engage in all kinds of speech, their power of restriction is still limited. In this case, it is evident that this restriction discriminated based on the viewpoint of speech. This is not a violation of the Establishment Clause because the Club does not meet during school hours, is not sponsored by the school, is open to the public, not just church members, and there is no realistic danger that the community would think that the district was endorsing religion.

    Reply

23. Good News Club v. Milford Central High School
    533 US 98 (2001)

    Facts: A Christian organization for children named the Good News Club was attempting to use a public school, Milford Central School, for after-school meetings that involved religious practices. Milford Central School had a policy allowing community groups to use its facilities for activities that were pertaining to the welfare of the community, but it denied the Good News Club’s request on the grounds that the Club’s activities were religious. The school argued that it would be in violation of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. The Good News Club stated that it was an infringement on their First Amendment right to freedom of speech and religion.

    Issue: Does a public school’s exclusion of a religious club from using its facilities while permitting secular clubs to use them violate the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment?

    Holding: 6-3, yes, the exclusion of the Good News Club violates the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment.

    Reasoning: The Court held that excluding the Good News Club from using its facilities while allowing other groups to use them was an act of discrimination and a violation of the free speech clause of the First Amendment. The Court’s reasoning was that the school had created a limited public forum by allowing community groups to use its facilities. Once the forum was opened, the government could not discriminate against groups based on their viewpoints, including religious views. The Court also held that allowing them to use the facilities even for religious purposes was not in violation of the Establishment Clause and was not constituted as an endorsement of religion because other clubs were also allowed to use the facilities.

    Summary: Good News Club being allowed to use public school facilities emphasized the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment. As long as the facilities are open to all, they then become an “open forum” that cannot discriminate, including based on religion.

    Reply

24. Good News Club v. Milford Central High School
    533 US 98 (2001)

    Facts: Under a New York law, Milford Central School enacted a policy authorizing district residents to use its building after school for instruction in education, learning, or the arts and social, civic, recreational, and entertainment uses pertaining to the community welfare. Stephen and Darleen Fournier were district residents eligible to use the school’s facilities with approval. They were sponsors of the Good News Club which was a private Christian organization for children ages 6 to 12. The Fournier’s requested approval to hold the the Good News Club weekly afterschool meetings using Milford’s building. These meetings would include singing Christian songs, Bible lessons, memorizing scripture, and praying. Milford denied the request arguing that the Club’s proposed use, as stated above, was considered religious worship prohibited by the school’s community use policy. Milford was concerned that authorizing the Good News Club to use its facilities would violate the Establishment Clause. After Milford’s denial, the Club filed suit claiming that denial of the Club’s meetings violated its free speech rights under the First and Fourteenth Amendments.

    Legal Question: Were the Good News Club’s free speech rights under the First Amendment violated with Milford’s refusal to approve the after school club meetings?

    Decision: Yes

    Reasoning of Court: per Thomas. The Court found that Milford violated the Club’s free speech rights when it excluded the Club from meeting after hours at the school and that no concerns regarding the Establishment Clause justify that violation. The Good News Club was discriminated against based on its religious ideologies and activities which violates the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment.

    Voting Coalitions: (6 to 3). For the majority, Rehnquist, O’Connor, Scalia, Kennedy, Thomas, Breyer. Dissenting, Stevens, Souter, Ginsburg.

    Reply

25. I. Good News Club v. Milford Central School
    II. 533 U.S. 98 (2001)

    III. Facts: Milford Central School, under New York law, has a policy that authorizes district residents to use its school buildings for certain activities. Stephen and Darleen Fournier, residents of the district, sought approval to use the school’s facilities and have the school’s sponsorship of their private Christian organization for children, Good News Club. The Fourniers submitted a request to hold the club’s meetings afterschool on a weekly basis. The school denied their request, stating that the proposed usage was equivalent to religious worship prohibited by their community use policy. The club filed a lawsuit, stating that denying the request violated free speech rights under the First and Fourteenth Amendments. The District Court granted the school summary judgment because they held that the subject matter and activities of the club were religious. Additionally, the club policy of the school was considered constitutional subject discrimination by the court.

    IV. Issues: Did the policy violate the First Amendment right of free speech?
    If the policy was violated, was the school’s concern that approving of the club’s activities would violate the Establishment Clause constitute a valid justification?

    V. Decision and Action: 6 to 3 decision in favor of the Good News Club.

    VI. Reasoning: The Court held that the school restriction “violates the Club’s free speech rights and that no Establishment Clause concern justifies that violation.” Justice Clarence Thomas stated “when Milford denied the Good News Club access to the school’s limited public forum on the ground that the Club was religious in nature, it discriminated against the Club because of its religious viewpoint in violation of the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment.”

    Reply

26. In deciding this case, the Court did entirely away with the notion set by previous Establishment cases, that the teaching of religion in public schools could not be assumed to have any necessary secular value which could not be obtained through strict secular means. In doing so, the Court has essentially allowed public school teachers to ideologue from their chosen religious texts without legal scrutiny. I think it is shameful for the Court to act like this, to go against Justice John Marshall’s idea that the Court must not ever bend in the face of unconstitutionality.

    Reply

27. Good News Club v Milford Central School
    533 US 98 (2001)
    Facts: An after-school Christian group, Good new club would request to use facilities at Milford Central School in New York. The school denied the request because of a new York policy that prohibited religious activities on school grounds. The club challenged and argued that it violated their First Amendment rights.

    Question: Did the club content violate the establishment clause? Were the free speech rights of the club’s members violated.

    Holding: 6-3
    Decision: Yes, to both. The restriction of speech was unjust and would discriminate against those with religious perspective.

    Reply

28. Facts:
    Milford Central School denied two district residents, Stephen and Darleen Fournier, the ability to utilize the school’s facilities to hold meetings for the Good News Club, a private Christian organization for children. The Fourniers submitted a request to have the Club’s weekly after-school meetings at the school; however, Milford denied the request, reasoning that the proposed use was the equivalent of religious worship prohibited by the community use policy that the state of New York enforced. The Club filed suit alleging the denial violated its free speech rights under the First and Fourteenth Amendments.

    Question: Did Milford Central School violate the First Amendment free speech rights of the Good News Club when it excluded the Club from meeting after hours at the school? If a violation occurred, was it justified by Milford’s concern that permitting the Club’s activities would violate the Establishment Clause?

    Opinion: In a 6-3 decision, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Good News Club. The Court held that the school district’s policy violated the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment.

    Reply

29. Under New York state law, Milford Central School has a policy allowing district residents to utilize its school for specific activities after school hours. Stephen and Darleen Fournier, as district residents eligible for such use, sought approval to host the Good News Club, a private Christian organization for children, at the school. Their request, which included activities such as singing songs, hearing Bible lessons, memorizing scripture, and praying, was denied by Milford. The denial was based on the argument that the proposed use constituted religious worship, which was prohibited by the community use policy. The Club filed a lawsuit, alleging that the denial violated its free speech rights under the First and Fourteenth Amendments. Ultimately, the District Court granted Milford summary judgment. The Court of Appeals affirmed this decision, stating that because the Club’s subject matter was “quintessentially religious,” and the activities were deemed to “fall outside the bounds of pure ‘moral and character development,'” Milford’s policy of excluding the Club’s meetings was constitutional subject discrimination and not unconstitutional viewpoint discrimination.

    Question: Did the exclusion of the Good News Club from meeting after school hours at Milford Central School constitute a violation of the First Amendment’s free speech rights?

    In a 6-3 decision authored by Justice Clarence Thomas, the Court ruled that “Milford’s limitation infringes upon the free speech rights of the Club, and no Establishment Clause concern justifies such infringement.” Justice Thomas stated, “By denying the Good News Club access to the school’s restricted public forum based on its religious nature, Milford engaged in viewpoint discrimination, violating the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment.”

    Reply

30. Student wanted to create religious club after school curriculum.
    High School didn’t allow them to stay after school hours in school.
    Court ruled that school made an unconstitutional decision, because it didn’t allow students to express their religion, especially if the club is voluntary.
    Justice Thomas said that school violated Freedom of Speech by denying this club.

    Reply

31. File attatched

    

    Reply

32. It revolved around whether a public school district could exclude a religious club, the Good News Club, from using school facilities after hours. The critical issue was whether this exclusion violated the First Amendment’s Free Speech and Free Exercise Clauses. In a unanimous decision, the Court ruled in favor of the Good News Club, asserting that the exclusion amounted to unconstitutional viewpoint discrimination. This case established an important precedent, affirming the rights of religious groups to access public school facilities on an equal basis with non-religious groups, ensuring protection for their free speech and free exercise rights.

    Reply

33. Milford Central School enacted a community use policy, which included a provision that prohibited use of the school building “by any individual or organization for religious purposes.” The policy also stated that any group that “promote[s] the moral and character development of children” may use the school building. The Club stated that its meetings included prayer and learning and reciting Bible verses. Milford denied the Club’s application on the basis of its community use policy, stating that the meetings were “the equivalent of religious worship.” The Club sued Milford. The district court granted Milford’s motion for summary judgment.

    In a limited public forum, the government generally may not impose speech restrictions that discriminate based on viewpoint. Thus speech discussing otherwise permissible subjects cannot be excluded from a limited public forum, such as a school, on the ground that the subject is discussed from a religious viewpoint

    Reply

34. The Good News Club, which was a private Christian organization, wanted to have after-school meetings at the Milford Central High School, but they were denied from doing so. The question before the Supreme Court is did Milford Central High School violate the Good News Clubs First Amendment right by not allowing the club to meet at the school after school hours? In a 6-3 decision in favor of the Good News Club, the Court said that by not allowing the Good News Club to meet after school at the school violated the Good News Club’s right to free speech and free exercise of religion.

    Reply

35. Good News Club v. Milford Central School
    533 U.S. 98 (2001)

    Facts: A religious club, the Good News Club, wanted to hold after-school meetings at a public school in New York were denied them access to school facilities.

    Issue: Did the school’s denial of access to the Good News Club for its after-school meetings on the basis of their religious content violate the First Amendment’s Free Speech and Free Exercise Clauses?

    Decision: Yes.

    Reasoning: Per Thomas, the Supreme Court held that the school’s denial of access violated the Free Speech Clause because it amounted to religious discrimination and was not reasonable.

    Concurring Opinion: Justice Scalia and Breyer.

    Dissenting Opinion: Justice Stevens and Scouter filed a dissenting opinion, arguing that the Club’s meetings amounted to worship and could lead to unwanted religious influence in public schools.

    Voting Coalitions: The decision was 6 to 3 in favor of the Good News Club.

    Summary: Good News Club v. Milford Central School determined that the school’s denial of access to the Good News Club for its after-school meetings based on their religious content violated the Free Speech Clause.

    Reply

36. Good News Club v Milford Central School
    533 US 98 (2001)
    Facts: Milford Central didn’t allow the private Christian organization, the Good News Club, to form as an after school club. Milford was a public school. The club sued saying that they were violating their free speech under the 1st and 14th amendment.
    Question: Did Milford violate free speech rights when they didn’t allow the Good News Club from forming? Also if it was in violation, was Milford’s concerns valid under the fear of violating the establishment clause?
    Opinion: 6-3
    Reasoning: yes but also no. The court reasoned (Thomas majority) that it went against free speech and that the explanation of worrying about the establishment clause was not justified. The court said that it was discrimination against the club when they were not allowed to form.

    Reply

37. Good News Club v. Milford
    533 U.S. 98 (2001)
    Facts: A Christian group called the Good News Club wanted to host after-school gatherings at Milford Central School to teach students on Christian values and morals. The Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, which forbids government support of religion, was cited as the reason the school system refused the group access to its facilities.
    Questions: The central question in this case was whether the school district’s refusal to allow the Good News Club to meet on its premises constituted a violation of the First Amendment’s Free Speech and Free Exercise Clauses.
    Holding: They held that the school district’s denial of access to the Good News Club’s meetings was unconstitutional and violated the Free Speech rights of the club.
    Reasoning: Justice Clarence Thomas’ majority decision claimed that the school’s conduct amounted to speech discrimination. The court ruled that while the Good News Club’s activities are religious in character, the school could not bar it from using its facilities for educational reasons provided it let other community groups to do the same. Thus, the school violated the principles of free speech by engaging in content-based discrimination.
    Concurring: Justice Scalia and Breyer
    Dissenting: Justice Stevens, Souter, and Ginsburg
    Voting Coalition: 6-3
    Summary: The Court’s decision established that excluding a religious club from using school facilities solely on the basis of its religious content amounted to viewpoint discrimination and was unconstitutional. This ruling emphasized the importance of protecting free speech and religious expression in public spaces, even within the context of public schools, while also addressing concerns related to the Establishment Clause.

    Reply

38. The primary legal issue in Good News Club v. Milford Central School was whether the school district’s denial of access to the club violated the First Amendment’s Free Speech and Free Exercise Clauses. The case raised questions about the constitutionality of allowing religious organizations to use public school facilities for their activities. In a unanimous decision, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Good News Club, holding that the school district’s policy violated the First Amendment. The Court held that the denial of access to the club based on its religious nature constituted viewpoint discrimination, which is prohibited by the Free Speech Clause. The Court also found that the school’s concerns about perceived endorsement of religion were not a valid reason to deny access to a religious group when other non-religious groups were allowed to use school facilities.

    Reply

39. Name and Citation: Good News Club v. Milford Central School 533 U.S. 98 (2001)

    Facts: NY law allowed public school facilities to be used by the public after school hours. Good news club, a religious group asked to use the schools facilities to hold some of its meetings. The School denied the request, the club then filed suit alleging that their first Amendment rights had been violated.

    Question: 1) were the free speech rights of the good news club members violated when they were denied access to the school 2) did the clubs activities violate the establishment clause because they were a religious group?

    Opinion: The court ruled in favor of the Good News Club saying that their rights were violated in both questions.

    Reasoning: The clubs right to free speech and the fact that the club was not in violation of the Establishment clause meant that the school had discriminated against the Good News Club when it denied use of its facilities and therefore violated the First Amendment.

    Reply

40. Milford does not allow the Good News Club (a Christian club where they discuss the bible etc.) to hold activities at their school because the club is religious in nature. The club sues arguing that this violates their freedom of speech as part of the 1st amendment and the school argues that holding the club on school property would violate the Establishment Clause. The court rules that the school violated the club’s Freedom of Speech and that the right to freedom of speech overrules any Establishment concerns.

    What’s really the difference between this case and Westside V. Mergens? Is it that in Westside students wanted to use the facility or the makeup of the court?

    Reply

41. Facts of the Case: Good News Club v. Milford Central School, 533 U.S. 98 (2001)

    Under New York law, Milford Central School policy authorizes district residents to use its building after school for certain activities. Stephen and Darleen Fournier were district residents eligible to use the school’s facilities. They sought approval of their proposed use and sponsorship of the Good News Club, a private Christian organization for children. The Fourniers submitted a request to hold the Club’s weekly afterschool meetings at the school. Milford denied the request reasoning that the proposed use, including singing songs, hearing Bible lessons, memorizing scripture, and praying, was the equivalent of religious worship prohibited by the community use policy. The Club filed suit alleging that the denial violated its free speech rights under the First and Fourteenth Amendments. Ultimately, the District Court granted Milford summary judgment. In affirming, the Court of Appeals held that because the subject matter of the Club’s was “quintessentially religious”, and the activities “fall outside the bounds of pure ‘moral and character development,'” Milford’s policy of excluding the Club’s meetings was constitutional subject discrimination, not unconstitutional viewpoint discrimination.

    Legal question: The first question is whether Milford Central School violated the free speech rights of the Good News Club when it excluded the Club from meeting after hours at the school. The second question is whether any such violation is justified by Milford’s concern that permitting the Club’s activities would violate the Establishment Clause.

    Ruling: The case ultimately reached the United States Supreme Court. In a 6-3 ruling, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Good News Club. The Court held that the school district’s policy, which excluded the club based on its religious content, amounted to viewpoint discrimination and violated the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment.

    Justice Thomas’s Opinion For Majority: We conclude that Milford’s restriction violates the Club’s free speech rights and that no Establishment Clause concern justifies that violation.

    Dissenting opinion: Justice Stevens delivered a dissenting opinion. Justice Souter, joined by Justice Ginsburg, filed a dissenting opinion.

    Voting coalition: 6-3

    Reply

42. I. Name or Title of Case:
    Good News Club v. Milford Central High School (2001)

    II. Legal Citation:
    533 U.S. 98 (2001)

    III. Statement of Facts:
    Milford Central School policy allowed for district residents to use school buildings after the school day for certain clubs and activities. The Good News Club, owners Stephan and Darleen Fournier, were eligible to use the schools facilities. The sought approval for the Good News Club, which was a private Chrisitian organization for children, and requested to hold weekly after school meetings. However, the High School denied this request because they believed that the equivalent of religious teachings and worship within government-sponsored buildings, was in violation of the Establishment Clause. On the other hand, the Club believed this denial was in violation of their First and Fourteenth Amendment Rights.

    IV. Statement of Issues:
    There are two issues: (1) Whether or not the exclusion of the Good News Club meetings after hours of school violated the First Amendments free speech rights? And (2) Whether or not there is justification for denying the Club’s activities under the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause.

    V. Decision and Action:
    The Court ruled in favor of the Good News Club, holding that the Club could hold weekly meetings in the school buildings because it did not violate the establishment clause.

    VI. Reasoning of the Court:
    The Court, delivered by Justice Thomas, provided that the restrictions by Milford violated the Club’s right to free speech and that the Establishment Clause concerns did not justify the freedom of speech violations. Milford denying the Club access based on the religious nature, was discriminatory against a certain religious viewpoint, thus in violation of the Free Speech Clause.

    VII. Concurring Opinions:
    Justice Scalia filed a concurring opinion. In addition, Justice Breyer filed a concurring opinion in part.

    VIII. Dissenting Opinions:
    Justice Stevens filed a dissenting opinion. Justice Souter, joined by Justice Ginsburg, filed a dissenting opinion.

    IX. Voting Coalition:
    The Court ruled in favor of the Good News Club with a vote of 6 to 3.

    X. Summary:
    This case held that schools, similarly to Bd of Ed of Westside v. Mergens, could not restrict a group from meeting after school hours on the basis of religious beliefs.

    Reply

43. Facts: NY schools, state law opening schools for general public use, educational, meetings for groups, etc. Christian group was denied from use on the grounds of it being religious worship in school.

    Question: Was the GNC practicing religious worship/instruction? GNC lawyer and lower courts say so.
    Is state law in violation of the constitution? Yes, since they wanted to ban religious teachings but not teachings on “moral and character development”.
    Is school in violation of state law?
    Is school in violation of 1st amendment?
    Can limited forums legally exclude religious content?

    Opinions: Thomas: limited public forums may have some state regulation but not unlimited. Restriction must serve the reasonable purpose of the forum. Precedent saying that viewpoint discrimination is violation of 1st so we do not need to answer the “reasonable purpose” test. Discriminates on the basis of viewpoint – religion cannot be discriminated against and the school should allow religious orgs. School says it must discriminate in order to follow establishment clause – invalid state interest since precedent says there is no compelling reason to prohibit on these grounds. The coercion of children is not relevant and any perception they have that school is endorsing religion is unfounded.

    Concurring:

    Dissenting: Stevens: 3 types of religious speech: 1 that discusses topics from religious perspective and 2 others which is worship and proselytizing. School has an interest in maintaining a non-sectarian, non-divisive educational environment. School wanted to exclude the 2 other religious speeches but not the first. Opposes bringing up constitutional question in Thomas’ opinion on coercion of children.

    Reply

44. Good News Club v. Milford Central High School
    533 U.S. 98 (2001)
    Facts: A New York law allowed public schools to be used for the public for nonschool hours, which needed to be nonexclusive and for the welfare of the community. The Fourniers wished to establish and sponsor The Good News Club, a private Christian organization, to be used on the public school property. They were rejected on the basis of religious worship as singing songs, memorizing scriptures and more were a part of that. it was contented that the Club’s First Amendment rights were violated and the school district argued it violated the Establishment Clause.
    Issue: Was this prevention of the Club a violation of their First Amendment rights? Was it justified?
    No, it wasn’t in a 6-3. The restriction on their speech was unjustifiable as it targeted their religious viewpoint and the Establishment Clause claim had no merit here
    Concurrence: Scalia and Breyer
    Dissent: Stevens, Souter, Ginsburg

    Reply

45. I. Good News Club v. Milford Central High School (2001)
    II. 533 US 98 (2001)
    III. Facts:In New York, a school allowed local residents to use its building for certain activities after school hours. Stephen and Darleen Fournier, who lived in the area, wanted to use the school for meetings of the Good News Club, a private Christian group for kids. They asked for permission, but the school said no because the Club’s activities, like singing religious songs, teaching Bible lessons, and praying, seemed too much like a religious service, which wasn’t allowed under the school’s policy. The Good News Club then sued the school, saying that denying them permission violated their freedom of speech rights as per the First and Fourteenth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution. However, the District Court ruled in favor of the school. The Court of Appeals agreed, saying that because the Club’s activities were very religious, the school’s decision was not against their viewpoint but rather based on the type of activity they wanted to do. So, it was seen as discrimination based on the subject matter, which was allowed, not discrimination against their beliefs, which would have been unconstitutional.

    IV. Issues:
    Did Milford Central School violate the First Amendment free speech rights of the Good News Club when it excluded the Club from meeting after hours at the school?
    If a violation occurred, was it justified by Milford’s concern that permitting the Club’s activities would violate the Establishment Clause?
    V. Decision and Action:
    Yes
    No
    VI. Reasoning Per Thomas, joined by Rehnquist, O’Connor, Scalia, Kennedy; Breyer (in part)
    “Milford’s restriction violates the Club’s free speech rights and that no Establishment Clause concern justifies that violation.” “When Milford denied the Good News Club access to the school’s limited public forum on the ground that the Club was religious in nature, it discriminated against the Club because of its religious viewpoint in violation of the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment,”
    VII. Concurrence Per Scalia
    He thought the Club’s activities were not coercive. He believed that if religious expression happened in a public place open to all, it should be allowed. He said the school was unfairly discriminating against the Club’s viewpoint.
    VIII. Dissents Per Stevens
    There are three types of speech related to religion. One type is when people talk about a topic from a religious point of view. Another is when they do something like worship. In this case, the government wanted to let the first type of religious speech happen on its property but not the other two types.
    IX. Coalitions: 6-3
    X. Summary: In a 6-3 decision the court decided that the free speech act was violated. In the second decision the Court stated that the violation was not justified under the Establishment Clause.

    Reply

46. Good News Club v. Milford Central High School
    533 US 98 (2001)
    Facts: The Fournier’s asked Milford School to use their facilities for their Good News Club which would be permissible under the New York law that allowed residents to utilize school facilities. However, this club would be based on religious teachings so the school denied. The Fourniers took this to court and said it was a violation of their 1st and 14th amendment.
    Question: Was the school in violation of the 1st, their freedom of speech, and 14th, equal protection, amendment?
    Answer and Reasoning: yes, it violated the club free speech clause and was discrimination. However, they questioned the nature of the club.

    Reply

47. The restriction that is occurring is in violation of the free speech clause of the first amendment. The establishment clause does not have any justification here.

    Reply

48. brief

    354 Con Law_ Civil Liberties & Rights -9

    Reply

49. “Milford’s restriction violates the Club’s free speech rights and that no Establishment Clause concern justifies that violation.” I agree with the court’s decision in this case. I think that anyone should freely be allowed to rent out the public space so long as this right is given to those of all religious, not just Christianity.

    Reply

50. Facts: 6-3 in an opinion delivered by justice Thomas, the majority focuses on

    Question:

    Didi Milford central high violate the first amended free speech rights of the good new club when it excluded the club from meeting after school hours
    Pg. 252-253

    Reply

51. Reply

52. This is an interesting case because the New York state allowed the public school buildings to be open to the public so, I don’t understand why the superintendent’s decision to deny the Good News Club for accessing the school’s buildings after the classes. To refuse the accessibility of Good News Club necause it is a Christian club and the superintendent didn’t want to violate the Establishment clause for denying a Christian Club to operate in the public school after class, while other organizations were allowed to operate in the school’s buildings after classes.

    Reply

53. I believe that the ruling of the superintendent in this case was irrational because any activities or organization taking place after school should be allowed since they are not interfering with any rights or ideologies of students nor forcing them to participate. It is solely based on free will.

    Reply

54. The State of New York allowed for their public schools to open their buildings up in order for the public to use them when school was let out. The club sang Christian songs, had lessons and read the Bible. The school board denied their request to use Milford Central School’s building. The school claimed there was religious worship and the act prohibited religious organization. The club filed against the school claiming they violated free speech rights under both the first and fourteenth Amendments. The court decided in favor of the school and the club appealed. The Court of Appeals stated that there was conflict among the court if they could deny certain speech in a public place based on religion.

    Reply

55. I do not think I understand the ruling of this case. Non-curriculum activities were happening within the building that is payed for with taxpayer money. If a state law says district members can use the building, it would be combining the state with religion because the state made the law. There is no separation of church and state in my eyes in this case.

    Reply

56. This case is about a religious club that was held on schools grounds, where the club would hold weekly religious meetings consisting of bible readings, singing and applying the bible to your life. McGruder denied the Clubs request to host repeatedly, the club then claimed their 1st and 14th amendment rights are being restricted by McGreuder. The district court ruled in favor of McGruder because of the clubs “subject matter is decidedly religious in nature, and not merely a discussion of secular matters from a religious perspective that is otherwise permitted under use policies”

    Reply

    • Court of Appeals ruled for the Club stating “we are not convinced that there is any significance in this case to the possibility that elementary school children may witness the Good News Club’s activities on school premises. and the Supreme Court ruled the same

      Reply

57. It is honestly very weird to see such arguments against the exercise of their club, even though it was beyond the curriculum. Similar to the earlier case which allowed the religious club to meet after school, I agree with the court ruling that it violated their freedom of speech. It is not fair to become excluded over this specific reason, prohibiting the exercise of their religion even though it is beyond the use of the school’s resources. Very different case.

    Reply

58. Statement of Facts:
    New York State authorized public schools to open their buildings up after hours for public use. The Good News Club, a Christian club, requested to use Milford Central School’s building. The main activities of the club were singing Christian songs and telling Bible lessons. The school board denied their request because they claimed there was religious worship and the act prohibited religious organization. The Good News Club filed against the school claiming they violated free speech rights under the First and Fourteenth Amendments. The court decided in favor of the school and the club appealed. The Court of Appeals affirmed; however, there was conflict among the court if they can deny certain speech in a public place based on religion.

    Reply

59. Although I can see McGruger concerns about being perceived as aiding certain religious to hold meetings in a public use as it can be seen as indirectly supporting a particular religious, I also agree that being “neutral” about religious matters could mean that we can allow certain organizations to hold activities with the public facilities.
    I think the question would be what if certain organizations/clubs disguise the meetings in the public facilities to produce fake news, expanding hate speech, or other actions that could harm other people or group. Would that be perceived as the public school indirectly supporting certain crimes or harmful actions?

    Reply

60. A New York school authorized community members in the district to use the buildings after school. The Good News Club was a christian organization that sought approval to use the high school for it’s programs. The high school denied the request because the religious worship was prohibited by the community use policy. The Club filed suit claiming it violated their freedom of speech.

    Since it was after school, I don’t see the issue. Schools should celebrate religious diversity, and these programs help build the community.

    Reply

61. I agree with the majority opinion, the school space was open to any residents or people to organize any group or events they want, as long as there is no state involved in either directly or indirectly aiding the after school activities. And by restricting the Good News Club from meeting, Milford did in fact violated their 1st Amendment’s free speech.

    Reply

62. This case reminds me of Westside v. Mergens with the Christian Club and its after school religious activity. In Mergens, the club was allowed to conduct their club regardless of its religious nature because it was non-curricular and after school hours. In this case, the good news clubs first amendment rights were violated as per the holding- regardless of violation to the establishment clause.

    Reply

63. When I was a kid, I remember a church group meeting in my middle school. They met after hours, while I stayed back for cheer practice. At the time I thought it was weird because I knew religion wasn’t allowed in schools. Learning about the establishment clause I pondered this idea again. This case answered my curiosity about how this church group was allowed to meet in my public middle school.

    Reply

64. Justice Thomas’ opinion:

    He distinguishes between an open public forum and a limited public forum. Argues that the exclusion is a case of viewpoint discrimination. Any group that “promotes the moral and character development of children” is eligible to use Milton’s facilities, whether it is a religious group or not.

    – Free Speech: The ruling is that Milton violated their right to free speech. Schools everywhere teach young students lessons of morality and character. Why should any lessons that contain a religious viewpoint be banned? We are all influenced by our culture and religions one way or another anyway, so is it even possible to hold this kind of standard? Given the nature of the school’s “limited public forum”, it did discriminate against the Fourniers, which was a violation of their right to free speech.

    – Establishment Clause: Giving the club the green light would not be breaking the Establishment Clause. One cannot discriminate against a religious group based on what children may or may not perceive or understand at times they may or may not be present for its meetings. Good News isn’t indoctrinating children, but instead is a neutral club just like any other. It isn’t going to take place in classrooms or be taught by any school instructors. It is not enforcing a religious viewpoint on students, but rather is an organization that parents decide if they would like their kids to join or not join. Just like any other club or group focused on “moral and character development of children”. There’s the emphasis on parents’ free choice here.

    Justice Stevens’ Dissent:

    He distinguishes between three types of “speech” for “religious purposes”:
    1. Religious speech surrounding a specific topic as understood from a religious viewpoint.
    2. Religious speech that is a form of worship.
    3. Religious speech with the goal of recruiting more people to join your faith. The fancy word for this is “proselytizing.”

    He argues that if in a public forum a speaker was not allowed to due their religious viewpoint, this would amount to discrimination of that individual’s right to freedom of speech. However, this is an important distinction from #2 and #3. While Thomas conflated each of these three types of religious speech together, Stevens wants to segment them from one another.

    Stevens argues that the Good News Club does not fall under #1, but instead it falls under #3. The goal isn’t to express any specific religious viewpoints of various topics, but instead has the goal of imposing their religion onto young and impressionable children. He was unsure if #2 applied here. At the end he sides with the former decision made by the Court of Appeals.

    In other words, his argument is that Milton Central did accurately label the group as proselytizing and did not discriminate.

    An example I thought of and like to give is this one. Imagine a Religious Studies or Social Science course that is teaching about Christianity. There is a big difference between teaching that Jesus is a central figure in the mythos of the Christian religion, and teaching them that Jesus came and died for our sins so that we can be saved. The first example would fall under Stevens’ #1 type of religious speech. The latter example would fall under #3 and perhaps #2 depending on context.

    Reply

65. I understand why Milford was skeptical to allow the club because it did have a religious affiliation. However, the court made an excellent point of how they try to be neutral toward religion which extends to those who have positions that align with religion. Additionally, stating ” we consider whether the community would feel coercive pressure to engage in the Club’s activities, the relevant community would be the parents…” ( Good news Club v Milford Central School pg 4), I think this coveys how members of the community would not be participating in the club unless they wanted to and knew what it would entail.

    Reply

66. I agree with the Court’s decision. A concern over violating the Establishment Clause is not good enough of a concern because it still does not allow people to exercise their religion freely.

    Reply

67. When Milford denied the clubs access to the school’s buildings to host a private Christian organization for the children after class. It led many to believe Milford violated the first amendment of free speech. The court ruled that the restrictions violated the clubs right of free speech. In addition, added that no concern of establishment clause justifies the violation in Milford’s defense.

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68. Personally, I agree with the decision made in the circumstance considering that the space was meant to be open to the public after school hours. As long as the school was not providing any support at all besides allowing their space to be used by the public then I think it was justifiable. Meaning no advertising the events to your students, perhaps no staff attending at all, and truly leaving the space up to public use. I understand they were attempting to maintain the boundary to avoid being accused of establishing a religion, but if the space was supposed to be open for public use then they were not establishing anything as it was open to all people of all religious.

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69. The use of the school was allowed by all district residents to use. I agree with the majority opinion. Denying access to this resource would be denying access to public goods solely because of someone’s religion.

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70. According to Justice Thomas, Milford’s restriction of the Good News Club does violate the free speech rights guaranteed in the First Amendment because it wrongly believes the Club’s only purpose is to advance religion through religious teaching and practices. Based on the cases of Lamb’s Chapel v. Center Moriches Union Free School District and Rosenberger v. University of Virginia, the Club actually has a religious viewpoint. It is not “quintessentially religious” or “decidedly religious in nature” because it is actually teaching children morals and character development among other topics. Attempting to prevent their teachings inhibits their free speech in a public forum. In regards to Milford’s argument that the existence of the Club violates the Establishment Clause, the Club (1) wants to be treated neutrally and be given access to speak about the same topics as other groups, (2) is not being coerced (it is a matter of private choice), and (3) does not take place on school grounds, (4) has no possibility of taking young students away from their classrooms, (5) is not being forced on impressionable children.

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71. I agree with the majority opinion. I think that because the Club is operating essentially in private even though they’re using a public building is enough to protect the school from Establishment Clause violation so long as participation in the club is non-coercive and there is equal access for similar speech.

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72. The main premise of this case is whether or not a school district can restrict an after school religious club from meeting on campus. The State of New York, had implimented N.Y. Educ. Law §414, which its langugage “enumerated” schools in the State of New York to allow their facilities to be used for public use after school hours. The Milford School District had adopted this policy in 1992. In 1996, the Fournier’s had come to the school district as they resided within its boundaries and asked the interim superintendent to allow their Good News Club to be allowed to use their facilities after school. The Good News Club is a private Christian organization that is for children ages 6-12. The interim superindent had denied the request of the Good News Club, and the Club filed suit. The case of violation of the First and Fourteenth Amendments was hear by the Disctrict Court for Northern New York. The Club had filed an injusction to not allow the school to forbid them from meeting. The Court granted the injunction, and the Club was allowed to meet from April 1997 to June 1998. In August 1998, the Milford School District had filed for a summary judgment, which was granted and the Club once again was not to meet at the school. The Court of Appeals had difficulty deciding the case, where the Supreme Court granted the writ of certitorari. The Supreme Court in a 6-3 decision had sided with the Good News Club stating that by not allowing the Club to exercise their religion on public grounds as permitted by New York State Law. The actions of the Club were seen as in line with the Establishment Clause, hence it was CONSTITUTIONAL. (Side note: one conservative justices sided with the minority/dissent and one liberal justice sided with the majority/decision).

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73. The Good News club was a Christian club that taught children, and was seeking to use Milford Central high as a meeting place since Milford central high had a policy that allowed for residents of the district to use the building for after school activities. However, Milford turned the Good News Club down because the club was religious, and their policy did not allow for religious groups since it was a public school. The Good News Club filed suit claiming that Milford Central High violated their rights to free speech granted in the first amendment. The court rules 6-3 in favor of the Good News Club.

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74. I think that after classes may children or their parents can decided if they want let their kids to participate in religious practice or not. For those that were sharing the same religious beliefe, it may was a good idea. About the public facilities, I think if the believers want to use the building, they can be charged with a fee.

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75. Milford Central High school allowed district residents to use occupy its building after school hours. Good News Club, a Christian club for children, tried to obtain a room but was denied by the high school. The school stated that the planned programs/actions of the club were prohibited by its community guidelines.The court ruled that the high school did violate the free speech clause of the 1st amendment and because the school discriminated against the club solely based on its religious viewpoint it had also violated the free speech clause.

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76. The court’s holding was that the permission to use the schools facilities for this Christian club did NOT constitute a violation of the Establishment clause, because public/state funds were not sponsoring. This was afterschool, so it did not make up the classroom environment DURING school hours, rather, simply extracurricular. I do believe there was a violation of free speech for the Fournier couple trying to restrict what THEY were speaking on/doing within their club hours.

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77. I find it very interesting (and confusing) in reading about how the free speech and establishment clauses of the First Amendment interacts with each other. It seems almost self contradictory that the federal government cannot establish a religion, but at the same time will allow religious groups to utilize public facilities (schools) paid by taxpayer money to hold their activities under the protection of free speech via limited public forum. The government also prohibits said forums from discriminating against “speech based on viewpoint.” The case was decided because the S.C. deemed that the high school’s facilities during non-school hours was in essence a limited public forum and that they were acting discriminatory towards the Good News Club. To me, it sounded like the high school was following the procedures and guidelines set by the state law’s Community Use Policy. Does this mean that the government in a way contracts itself?

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    • This is a very interesting point because I’m struggling with this too. On one hand, the school was doing exactly what is expected of them by means of the Establishment Clause. However, denying a club that was not state/government sponsored a room (after school hours) simply because they were a religious club seems a little extreme. The government absolutely contradicts itself in every aspect.

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78. According to this case the court overlooked the subject which was shared by the religious group and focused on their accessibility to the building as a whole. I think an argument can be made that the discrimination was not made based on religious faith. Allowing religion to be taught and spread in a building that is public funded could be seen as a violation to the establishment clause. Whereas if the group sought to host meeting there for the youth and participated in secular activities Milford would have been commuting discrimination. This is another case where we can see a struggle for one right over another. Interestingly the Supreme Court Justice’s made an argument that there are instances where discrimination can occur to give preference to the establishment clause.

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79. In Good News Club v. Milford Central HS we see that the high school was allowing the rental of the building after school hours for educational or art instruction, entertainment events, and social/civic or recreational meetings. What the Good News Club sought was to use part of the school to hold their religious meetings because they were a private church group that met with kids age 6-12. They would encourage the kids to participate and reward them with treats if the remembered such things as bible verses, prayers, etc. Due to the usage of the facilities being religious the HS decided not to allow them to use the facilities. This case ends up reaching the supreme court due to the fact that the argument that the HS infringed upon the free exercise of religion and freedom of speech as stated in the establishment clause. Due to this happening after hours the Supreme court sided with GNC

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80. Milford Central High School allowed for its building to be used after school hours. Some residents sought to use the building for their Christian organization called the Good News Club. The school denied their request because the club’s religious activities would violate the school’s policy. The club filed a suit against the school claiming the First Amendment was violated. The Supreme Court ruled that the club’s free speech rights were violated. I agree with the Court’s decision, using the school’s building does not equal an establishment of religion, like the school was concerned about.

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81. I think that the problem that the school had with the organization was because the students are 6 to 12 years old which is a pretty impressionable age that may constitute a coercion. However, like others have said, it is completely optional and there is no harm in not attending, if any of the students feel ostracized by not attending this club then they need new friends.

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82. This reminded me of the Mergens case. I agree with the court’s ruling. It was after school hours. I think the community should be able to tolerate religious speech under these circumstances.

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83. I find myself agreeing with the ruling of the Court on the issue of the establishment clause violation. The program in New York allowed for after school usage of the public school facilities. This happened on school property however it was after school hours and a voluntary program in which the children could participate. I don’t think this was violative of the Lemon Test and therefore the Establishment clause. There is no excessive entanglement of religion with government, the statute held a secular purpose, and the statute did not attempt to advance or inhibit any religion Seeing how the program was conducted after school hours which didn’t subject all students to the religious teachings of the organization, I don’t take an issue with it.

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84. I agree with the Court. The district was allowing residents to use the school building after school hours for instruction on any class of education or the arts. In this case, school faculty (aka public funds) were not being used to sponsor the club. The space was requested to be used for the religious educational instruction. I believe those residents had the same right to use the building as any other club that used the building after school hours.

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85. In his opinion, Thomas wrote that Milford, acting as a limited public forum, was not required to allow persons to engage in every type of speech. He stated that, in the restriction of speech, Milton cannot discriminate based on viewpoint. The Court held that Milton discriminated against the club because of its religious viewpoint by denying their request to hold wekly after school meetings at the school. It’s interesting that the Club filed suit claiming a fre speech violation because clearly that was effective for them.

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86. This was a very interesting case that denied the Good News Club access to Milford High School’s space for club activities. The court found that the school was well within their rights to exclude the club from using school space. I was just a little confused and would love to go over the three different forms of religious speech, though.

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87. Brittany TamayoOct 19, 2020
    By denying the Good News Clubs applications on the basis that the
    club is “religious by nature” Milford violated the free speech clause by discriminating against the group.
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    Zain Hussain
    Zain HussainOct 14, 2020
    In this case, Milford school allowed access to their building for after school activities. Two students wanted to use it for the Good News Club a private Christian organization for children. The school denied their request because of the religious activities they would perform which was prohibited by the school policy. The question is if Milford school violates the first amendment free speech of rights by excluding the club from using the school. The SC ruled in a 6-3 decision that it did violate free speech but not the establishment clause.
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    Brianna Guedes
    Brianna GuedesOct 14, 2020
    This case ruled that the Goodnews clubs free speech rights were violated
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    Matt Springer
    Matt SpringerOct 14, 2020
    In Good News Club v. Milford, Milford Central School rules students to use its building after school for certain activities. Fournier were students eligible to use the school’s facilities. They sought approval of their proposed use and sponsorship of the Good News Club, Christian organization for children. The Fourniers submitted a request to hold the Club’s weekly afterschool meetings at the school. Milford denied the request reasoning that the proposed use some real religious things. The CQ in this case is did Milford Central School violate the First Amendment free speech rights of the Good News Club when it excluded the Club from meeting after hours at the school? If a violation occurred, was it justified by Milford’s concern that permitting the Club’s activities would violate the Establishment Clause? The Court, in a 6-3 vote, sided with the club
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    Nay Tjatur
    Nay TjaturOct 13, 2020
    The Good News Club, a local Christian organization for kids, submitted a request to hold meetings in the school cafeteria. Their request was denied on the grounds that it is equivalent to religious worship. The Good News Club filed a lawsuit contesting that Milford’s denial is a violation of the equal protection clause under the First and Fourteenth Amendments. Using the precedent of the Lamb’s Chapel case, the Court ruled that the exclusion of Good News Club is unconstitutional.
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    Nizar Quafisheh
    Nizar QuafishehOct 13, 2020
    I find myself agreeing with the court here, as I think no violation would be made of the establishment clause by having the couple use the school for their club. While in previous cases something being voluntary did not properly protect from violating the establishment clause due to the effects of not participating, in this case there is absolutely no cost for not participating, because this is simply an additional activity and thats it.
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    Haneen Abdelhafez
    Haneen AbdelhafezOct 12, 2020
    The court ruled that by denying the Club access to the school’s limited public forum on the ground that the Club was religious in nature, Milford discriminated against the Club because of its religious viewpoint in violation of the Free Speech Clause.
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    Osikenoya Usman-Aliu
    Osikenoya Usman-AliuOct 11, 2020
    Facts:
    Under New York law, Milford Central School policy authorizes district residents to use its building after school for certain activities. Stephen and Darleen Fournier were district residents eligible to use the school’s facilities. They sought approval of their proposed use and sponsorship of the Good News Club, a private Christian organization for children. The Fourniers submitted a request to hold the Club’s weekly afterschool meetings at the school. Milford denied the request reasoning that the proposed use, including singing songs, hearing Bible lessons, memorizing scripture, and praying, was the equivalent of religious worship prohibited by the community use policy. The Club filed suit alleging that the denial violated its free speech rights under the First and Fourteenth Amendments. Ultimately, the District Court granted Milford summary judgment. In affirming, the Court of Appeals held that because the subject matter of the Club’s was “quintessentially religious”, and the activities “fall outside the bounds of pure ‘moral and character development,'” Milford’s policy of excluding the Club’s meetings was constitutional subject discrimination, not unconstitutional viewpoint discrimination.
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    Drew Fowler
    Drew FowlerOct 11, 2020
    The court ruled here that the schools denial of access to the Club violated the Free Speech Clause of the constitution, and that no establishment clause concern justifies that violation. Stating that the school had discriminated against the club’s religious viewpoint.
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    Nora Afify
    Nora AfifyOct 11, 2020
    If students are not being coerced or forced, then it is not a violation of the Establishment Clause! The confusion here may involve the fact that these children are ages 6-12, meaning they are young, and not actually deciding themselves, but their parents are the ones who are making the decision.
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    Hannah Ellis
    Hannah EllisOct 10, 2020
    In 1992, Milford Central School enacted a policy stating that district residents may use the school for instruction in any branch of education. The Good News Club, a Christian organization, used the school to educate children who were members. The activities in which the club engaged were religious in nature, so Milford eventually rejected the Club’s request to use the school. So, the club sponsors filed suit, citing Free Speech clause violations. The Supreme Court ruled that Milford did violate the Good News Club’s free speech rights. Since the club was held after school hours and required parent consent, there is no coercion or other sort of pressure or influence that would indoctrinate children into a specific religion.
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    Mateusz Plewa
    Mateusz PlewaOct 8, 2020
    With the previous precedents in mind, specifically Edwards v Aguillard and Santa Fe v Doe, the ruling of the Supreme Court in Good News Club v Milford Central High does not align, at all. Given that all the judges remained the same during the decisions of these three cases, one would think that the same process of deduction would ensue in deciding Good News Club v Milford. I fail to understand how according to the Supreme Court, a public school hosting a religious institution in its building does not violate the Establishment clause, which according to the previous majority opinions, is violated when “a law significantly entangles interests of church+state ‘by seeking support of the government to achieve a religious purpose'”. There is nothing clearer than “supporting the achievement of a religious purpose” than providing publicly funded institutions into the hands of a religious organization, and allowing it to use its resources. The private, student led and student initiated prayers in Santa Fe v Doe were also “open to the public, making [them] nonexclusive” as is stated in the majority opinion in Good News Club v Milford, however, in Santa Fe v Doe, there was no institutional or religious “meeting” organized by the students or their represented religious institution, as IS seen in Good News Club v Milford. These two landmark cases specifically emit overtly hypocritical conclusions when paired next to each other. Not quite seeing how denying the Good News Club use of public facilities is discrimination, but denying the students a privately led prayer before/after their own football game is NOT.
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    Jyah Vora
    Jyah VoraOct 5, 2020
    In Good News Club v. Milford Central High School the court ultimately ruled that Milford violated the Good News Club’s right to free speech by not allowing the club to use the school’s cafeteria to meet weekly. The Good News Club is a private Christian organization for children ages 6-12. The court’s reasoning was that the meetings were to be held after school hours and that young children would need the permission of their parents, which means that they wouldn’t be coerced into attending.
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    Anshu Nidamanuri
    Anshu NidamanuriOct 4, 2020
    Having students explore their faith without government involvement is fine and constitutional. As long as no public funding is used to promote the teaching students should be able to create clubs based on their opinions and furthering their personal ends using their labor and time.
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    Rama Izar
    Rama IzarOct 4, 2020
    This case is different than others we have covered since the religious club was meeting after school and their religion was not being established by the entire school. Also, since it was non-exclusive, it meant that it was open to anyone and not something forced (like having to say a school prayer or opting out of it).
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    Emma Whaley
    Emma WhaleySep 29, 2020
    The supreme court found Milford Central School’s denial of the Good New’s Club’s use of school’s limited public forum because of club’s “religious nature”, unconstitutional and in violation of the free speech clause of the first amendment. What I found interesting was the use of precedents in this case, particularly from Lambs Chapel and Rosenberger. The court heavily relied on these cases to display the main point, to me, of the case’s unconstitutionality. The court ruled that “speech discussing otherwise permissible subjects cannot be excluded from a limited public forum on the ground that the subject is discussed from a religious viewpoint”, therefore constituting Milford’s exclusion of GNC from use of school, as impermissible viewpoint discrimination. The court related the GNC’s use of religion to teach morals and character development, to Lamb’s Chapels case’s film that taught family values from a religious perspective, and Rosenberg’s case of Wide Awake publication with obvious religious content, to show that the GNC deserves the same first amendment protection as them.
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    Liliana Diaz
    Liliana DiazSep 28, 2020
    The Court ruled that Milford Central School violated the Club’s free speech rights under the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment.
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    Elizabeth Peralta
    Elizabeth PeraltaSep 27, 2020
    in this case the court decided that milford central school was in violation of the the free speech clause of the first amendment when they denied the good news club access to the limited public forum on the ground that the club was religous in nature.
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    Ben Lee
    Ben LeeSep 26, 2020
    SCOTUS rejected the High Schools claim that allowing a religious event would violate the establishment clause. Instead they found that because the meetings would happen after hours and away from the primary function of the school no reasonable person would view the school as respecting that religion. Further the schools choice to deny their facilities on the basis of them promoting their religion would violate the clubs right to free speech. Since this was a limited public forum and Because their the school permitted the teaching of morals generally but prohibited the teaching through a Christian moral lens, they were discriminating against their Christian viewpoints of morals, not the teaching of morals
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    Yj Hwang
    Yj HwangDec 11, 2019
    Like Mergen, clubs are fair game in not establishing a religion as school curriculum.
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    Ashanti Simpkins
    Ashanti SimpkinsOct 5, 2019
    This is an interesting case because it is the first free speech case. When the club was denied, it violated the free speech clause by not allowing them to to use the space solely on the fact that they are a religious club. Religion is protected ny the 1st amendment
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    Alfredo Navarro
    Alfredo NavarroOct 2, 2019
    The SC avoided the question of the establishment clause by making this an issue of freedom of speech. Given that argument, the SC was right in its choice to uphold the Good News Clubs’ actions.
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    Kelsei Peppler
    Kelsei PepplerOct 2, 2019
    The court focuses on the freedom of speech and not the establishment clause. I think it’s interesting that they looked at the free exercise clause. I think this is often the case in issues regarding religion.

    The court ruled that it did not violate the constitution because the good News Club met after school and not during the time of school. After school the space was supposed to be open to the public and by denying the Good News Club acoses was infringement on freedom of speech.
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    Diana Alvarado
    Diana AlvaradoOct 2, 2019
    The SC ruled that Good News Club did not violate the Establishment Clause since the organization did not force it’s religion upon anyone. The club was also open to the general public which supports the previous finding.
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    Nate Wasilowski
    Nate WasilowskiOct 1, 2019
    This case suing under the freedom of speech clause of the first amendment raises an interesting contention between the Establishment clause and free exercise. I now see the utility of the Lemon Test even if it may need revision.
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    Jessica Amyette
    Jessica AmyetteOct 1, 2019
    I think that its interesting that the Court seems to ignore the Establishment Clause question and redirects the ruling to be based on infringement of free speech.
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    Nadeen Elsayed
    Nadeen ElsayedOct 1, 2019
    Is it possible that the Supreme Courts overtime became more concerned over the free exercise clause versus the establishment clause?
    Reply
    Andrew Tuider
    Andrew TuiderOct 1, 2019
    The majority ruling in this case focuses more on free speech rights rather than the establishment clause, ruling that denying this club from gathering is a violation of free speech
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    Jacob Mattenson
    Jacob MattensonSep 30, 2019
    What exactly is the difference between subject and viewpoint discrimination?
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    Deleted user
    Deleted userSep 30, 2019
    I believe that suing under the Free Speech clause of the first amendment strengthened the case. It also complicates things by trying to find a balance between free speech and free exercise, if such balance does exist.
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    Omar Leon
    Omar LeonSep 30, 2019
    In this case we encounter a debate between the First Amendment and Free Exercise Clause against the Establishment Clause. It is a moment when the court has to determine which one is dominant over the other. It was difficult for the court to establish a decision as it declared the Milford school’s restriction violated the their right to free speech while at the same time banning Good News Club from meeting in school property as they were a religious club and it violated the Establishment Clause.
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    Deleted user
    Deleted userSep 29, 2019
    Milford was sued because they denied the Good News Club from coming together after school to discuss religion. This was deemed unconstitutional because they violated the establishment clause by not allowing them to practice free speech.
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    Jeanine Saleh
    Jeanine SalehSep 29, 2019
    This case led to the weighing the establishment clause and the first amendment. That meant deciphering if there was a loophole between the two.
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    Ines Josefina Castaneda
    Ines Josefina CastanedaSep 29, 2019
    They fought this under the Free Speech and Equal Protections clause it would of made a stronger case also using the Free Exercise clause. The school did not approve their application because it said it violated the establishment clause which we can see how that can happen aside from the reason that one of the allowed uses under the rule was not to have religious club
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    Monalisa Mensah
    Monalisa MensahSep 29, 2019
    The Good News Club was denied access to the school’s facilities by Milford on the grounds that the club was religious in nature. On that note, it discriminated against the club because of its religious viewpoint which is a violation of the Free Speech clause of the First Amendment rights.
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    Brooke Saunders
    Brooke SaundersSep 29, 2019
    The “Good News Club” brought this case before the Court to challenge Milford Central School and in doing so gave the court a case to decide whether the Establishment Clause is a justification for the violation of the First Amendment rights.
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    Leya Ismail
    Leya IsmailSep 29, 2019
    In a 6-3 opinion delivered by Justice Clarence Thomas, the Court held that “Milford’s restriction violates the Club’s free speech rights and that no Establishment Clause concern justifies that violation.
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    Marissa Scavelli
    Marissa ScavelliSep 29, 2019
    The states power to restrict speech is limited; the state should not restrict speech on the basis of viewpoint. Therefore, the court ruled that the Milford Central School engaged in impermissible viewpoint discrimination when it excluded the Good News club from using the after school forum.
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    Joseph Strom
    Joseph StromSep 29, 2019
    School did not allow religious worship for the after school community use of the building. Petitioners wanted to be able to set up a Christian club for Bible study, songs, etc. after school there. Does the exclusion violate free speech? Not establishment or free exercise. Court found that the school did violate their right to freedom of speech in denying the after-school club and, therefore, the ability to express that religious viewpoint.
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    Julio Hernandez
    Julio HernandezSep 29, 2019
    This case involving an Evangelical Christian Organization “the Good News Club” to use school facilities after school hours; was not considered through the Lemon Test for the courts decision. The court answered the question ” if the exclusion of the Good News Club a violation of freedom of speech?”; it which it does. The court used prior cases; in which were designed to prevent “viewpoint discrimination”; deciding that in this case, Milford was violating the organizations Freedom of Speech. Also the court stated that this was not a violation of the establishment clause because there was no establishment of religion (or endorsement) and that the club meet after school hours, was not school funded and parents had to give consent if their child wanted to attend.
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    Sylvia Waz
    Sylvia WazSep 29, 2019
    In this case, the court allowed a private club to exercise their right to speak freely in a limited public forum in the facilities of a school. The Court decision was a 6-3 decision. They argued that this is not an infringement on neutrality of the state towards religion. I found it interesting that the case did not directly use the Lemon Test to come to their decision. They used precedent to allow the club to meet. I found it interesting because I think that if they used the Lemon test, they might have come to the issue of whether it advanced religion or not. The court said it did not because it included private membership of students who needed parental permission to join, however they did not even mention the Lemon Test in their opinion.
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    Henry Jiang
    Henry JiangSep 29, 2019
    The issue in this case was whether Mildred Centrals school violated the free speech rights of the First amendment of the Good News Club when it prevented the Good News Club from meeting together after school and if there was a violation, was it justified for the school’s concern that allowing the Club’s activities would violate the Establishment Clause. The Court answered yes and no in consecutively. The Court held that Establishment Clause was not justified for this violation. Rather, Justice Thomas stated that “when Milford denied the Good News Club access to the school’s limited public forum on the ground that the Club was religious in nature, it discriminated against the Club because of its religious viewpoint in violation of the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment.”
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    Deleted user
    Deleted user
    To play the Devil’s Advocate, looking solely at the Establishment Clause claims, I fail to why this case should be treated any differently from Westside v. Mergens. In fact, unlike the Christian Club at Westside High School, the Good News Club operated after school-hours and wasn’t even run by any of the students or faculty at the school. Like the club at Westside High School, the Good News Club received no taxpayer funding and had no authority or power whatsoever over the curricula being taught at the school. In other words, the club was completely “noncurricular” in nature.
    Sep 29, 2019 (edited Sep 29, 2019)•Delete
    Deleted user
    Deleted user
    Now, with that being said, the free speech claims presented by the Good News Club are more troubling and problematic. If the Good News Club puts up Christian posters on the wall of the classroom that it uses, is that part of their free speech? What if non-Christians enter the classroom the next day and find that the posters violate their religious beliefs?
    Sep 29, 2019•Delete
    Kevin Lyles
    Crystal Lopez
    Crystal LopezSep 28, 2019
    This case involved the use of a school’s facilities by the public that reside within the district. Anyone that lives near could use it upon approval by the school. The school denied the Fournier’s request to use the lunch room for their christian club since it the community policy stated that individuals or organizations with religious purposes couldn’t use it. Since they decided to sue the school through the violation of freedom of speech of the first amendment and not as a violation to the establishment clause the Supreme Court decided to reverse the appellate court’s ruling. There was a clear violation of the groups freedom of speech and right to religious freedom.
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    Daniel Garcia
    Daniel GarciaSep 28, 2019
    This is a particularly interesting case. On the surface, it seems almost identical to Westside v. Mergens. Even the decision by the Supreme Court in both this case and Mergens is very similar. In both instances, SCOTUS said that forbidding a religious club to meet on school property was unconstitutional. However, the additional element in the Milford case is that the Good News Club sued in part under the Freedom of Speech Clause of the first amendment. To my knowledge, this is the first case that we are going to learn about in which the Constitutionality of an action will be judged under the Free Speech clause. I wonder if in the Santa Fe v. Doe case, had the defendants used the Freedom of Speech clause to justify their ability to say a prayer at a football game, would the outcome have been different?
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    Kevin Lyles
    Kevin Lyles
    excellent point: “However, the additional element in the Milford case is that the Good News Club sued in part under the Freedom of Speech Clause of the first amendment.”
    Sep 28, 2019•Edit•Delete
    Kevin Lyles
    Philip Garza
    Philip GarzaSep 27, 2019
    i think it’s interesting how this case isn’t was a violation of Free Speech and not a violation of the Establishment Clause, because even though it took place on public school grounds it wasn’t during school hours, wasn’t sponsored by the school and was open to the public. This is interesting to think about. If everything in this situation remained the same, but it took place during school hours this would be a violation of the Establishment, but because it takes place when school is not in session it isn’t a violation.
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    Deleted user
    Deleted userOct 1, 2017
    Milford was concerned that allowing the club to meet on school grounds after school would violate the establishment clause. the court ruled that it would not have been in violation because the club would not have been sponsored by the school.

    religious organizations make use of public goods such as water and law enforcement. why is a public school building any different, especially if the club activities have nothing to do with the school/ its students.

    if anything, i feel like not allowing the club would actually be more a violation than to allow them. not allowing religious groups to use the school is like favoring non-religion over religion.
    Reply
    Parya
    ParyaOct 1, 2017
    Although I agree with the court’s decision, I am curious as to why the Good News Club didn’t just change their curriculum and/or intent. I’m not sure if I misunderstood the argument The Good News Club was making but what I got from the facts of the case was that the club was intended to develop moral values through the use of the Bible and welcomed children and students of all faiths. If their main focus was on the development of moral values for the children, why did any religion influence need to be involved? Or why couldn’t they include stories and songs from other faiths? Was the use of materials from a specific religion that vital to the development of childrens’ moral values that the club had to take it all the way to the Supreme Court?
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    Deleted user
    Deleted userOct 1, 2017
    This case was interesting to me because while it did rule in favor of a religious club being able to use public school property, a kind of loophole was found in which it stated that it did not violate the Establishment Clause because the club was not to meet during school hours. Therefore, this poses the question, does separation of church and state only apply to schools when it is during school hours? Does that mean that religion can exist in public schools so long as they are not in session?
    Reply
    Deleted user
    Deleted userOct 1, 2017
    Justice Souter’s dissent on Good News Club v. Milford:
    “It is beyond question that Good News intends to use the public school premises not for the mere discussion of a subject from a particular, Christian point of view, but for an evangelical service of worship calling children to commit themselves in an act of Christian conversion. The majority avoids this reality only by resorting to the bland and general characterization of Good News’s activity as ‘teaching of morals and character, from a religious standpoint’. If the majority’s statement ignores reality, as it surely does, then today’s holding may be understood only in equally generic terms. Otherwise, indeed, this case would stand for the remarkable proposition that any public school opened for civic meetings must be opened for use as a church, synagogue, or mosque.”

    https://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/99-2036.ZD1.html
    Reply
    Deleted user
    Deleted userSep 30, 2017
    The Court’s opinion in this case cites Lamb’s Chapel and Rosenberger as precedents for viewpoint discrimination in this case, but they seem to be much different cases. In Lamb’s chapel the question revolved around films being shown that presented a viewpoint from a religious perspective, and in Rosenberger it was a matter of students with religious viewpoints being refused funds for their publication based on that religious perspective. Neither of these situations seem to exhibit any level of direct religious teaching or practice as it does in the case of the Good News Club’s practice of giving treats for memorizing Bible verses.

    Could it be argued in this case that for the school to be able to draw the line between “worship” and a more general teaching of morals through the activities of the Good News Club would require monitoring, and therefore require “excessive entanglement” with government, similar to the argument made in Lemon v. Kurtzman against funding teachers of secular subjects in parochial schools?
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    Deleted user
    Deleted userSep 21, 2016
    Good News Club v. Milford–this case wasn’t assigned to my team, but since I spent some time with the case, I thought I would add my notes here.

    Does Mildford School’s refusal of participation in an after hours limited public forum to a private adult-led Christian club for the purpose of religious worship constitute viewpoint discrimination thereby violating that club’s First Amendment right to free speech?

    Does the presence of that club on school grounds create an assumption by a reasonable person that the state approves of or prefers the religious viewpoint being presented thereby violating the Establishment Clause?

    Yes, where all other organizations, save partisan political meetings and those for a commercial purpose, are permitted use of the school facilities after hours, the state may not discriminate against a particular request on the basis of a religious viewpoint.

    No, the threshold of reasonableness of conference of state approval merely by the presence of a religious organization in a limited public forum used by many other organizations is not met.
    Reply
    Deleted user
    Deleted userSep 20, 2016
    2. Apelle/ Appellant side:
    Stephen and Darleen Fournier were district residents who were eligible to use the school’s facilities, and thus sought approval to use these facilities that were provided by the Good News Club, a private Christian organization for children. Hence, the Fourniers submitted a request to hold the Club’s weekly after-school meetings at the school. However, Milford denied the request reasoning that the proposed use, including singing songs, hearing Bible lessons, memorizing scripture, and praying, was the equivalent of religious worship prohibited by the community use policy.
    Reply
    Deleted user
    Deleted userSep 20, 2016
    Concurring Opinions:
    Justice Scalia concurred with the Court’s majority opinion. In his concurring opinion, he argued that the Good News Club having an after school program did not violate the Establishment Clause because “it does not signify state or local embrace of a particular religious sect”. Justice Scalia also expressed that Milford’s exclusion of the Good News Club could be categorized as “subject-matter discrimination”. Justice Scalia stated that Milford lacked a “ legitimate reason” to not allow the Good News Club’s activities.
    Justice Breyer wrote in his concurring opinion that a child’s perception that “a child’s perception that the school has endorsed a particular religion or religion in general may also prove critically important”. He argued that the children’s perceptions of religion being promoted by the school determine is a factor in whether the Establishment Clause was violated by the school.
    Dissenting Opinions:
    Justice Stevens declared in his dissenting opinion that the Club’s activities could be categorized as “religious proselytism”. He argued that the Club activities would promote their religion and the Club would be attempting to convert the children to their religious beliefs. The school had the right to exclude Club activities that inadvertently promoted religion.
    Reply
    Deleted user
    Deleted userSep 20, 2016
    4. Relevant Constitutional questions:

    The legal issue the court is addressing, is whether or not district residents can utilize public schools, during after-school hours, to engage in religious practice(s).

    it is under New York state law (and not federal law), that district residents can utilize the public school’s facilities for certain activities, perhaps specified in the “community use policy.”

    Did Milford school violate Good News Club’s right to freedom of speech/religion? Does allowing taxpayers to reap the benefits of their hard-earned tax dollars (by utilizing public school space/facilities for religious activities), violate the establishment clause? If less than 100% of the tax-payers’ children (within a particular district) DON’T attend the public school, shouldn’t the tax-payers be allowed to utilize the building they pay for? What exactly is the “community use policy?” Who is/are the individual(s)/bureaucrat(s) who determine what activities the district residents are allowed to utilize the school facilities for? How does he/she/they determine what activities to approve?

    Suppose several (a majority) of the district residents would like to participate in these “religious” practices, should it be allowed then? What if one of the district residents (who pays his/her property taxes, and DOES NOT send his/her child(ren) to the public school) would like to reap their tax benefits by utilizing the school facility space?
    Reply
    Jenny Huh
    Jenny HuhSep 20, 2016
    #5 The issue of the case was if Milford Central School violated the First Amendment free speech rights of the Good News Club when it excluded the Club from meeting after hours at the school?And If a violation did occur, was it justified by Milford’s concern that permitting the Club’s activities would violate the Establish Clause? The Court ruled yes and no.
    Justice Clearance Thomas delivered the majority opinion and held that the school’s restriction violates the club’s free speech rights. The court also held that Milford denying the club’s access to the school’s limited public forum on the ground that the club was religious discriminated against the club because of its religious viewpoint, and thus violated the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment.
    Reply
    Deleted user
    Deleted userSep 20, 2016
    4. Arguing for Milford:
    Milford argued that a club practicing certain religious rituals, i.e. memorizing scripture and singing biblical songs, violated the community use policy. They could also argue that allowing this to occur in a public, government funded institution, it violates the Establishment Clause of the First and Fourteenth Amendment. According to the Lemon Test, it (1) does not have a secular purpose, (2) the primary effect is to advance their religion, and (3) due to the public nature of the school, it would cause entanglement with the government.
    Reply
    Deleted user
    Deleted userSep 20, 2016
    #3

    Opposing Side: The argument made by the opposing party,Good News Club 1992, of prior rulings made by the United States District Court of the Northern District of New York and the United States Second Court of Appeals was based on the rights provided by First Amendments’ freedom of speech clause and the neutrality approach in the establishment clause that prohibits any laws that inhibit the free exercise of religion. After the passing of the Religious Freedom Restauration Act of 1993 which prohibited any governmental agency to hinder the exercise of religion, thus protecting religious practices; the Supreme Court, through writ of cert, reviewed the case and decided in 2001.

    Team 4
    354
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    Deleted user
    Deleted userSep 20, 2016
    7. one team member explains the significance of the case and relates it to the topic we are studying.

    Voluntary religious clubs have a right to equal access to public facilities at the high school and college level. Milford Central School denies that this principle carries over to the elementary school level when the student activity is highly religious. The Second Circuit agreed, voting 2-1 to uphold the school’s decision to bar a Christian youth group from using its facilities after school hours. The majority cited the establishment clause; the dissenting judge — noting that the school granted access to other groups such as the Boy Scouts — cited the free speech clause.
    Reply
    Deleted user
    Deleted userSep 19, 2016
    #1

    – Milford Central high school policy authorizes district residents to use its building for activities after the school day ends, under the New York law.
    – District residents Stephen and Darleen Fourner, sought approval of their proposed use and sponsorship of the Good News Club.
    – Good News Club is a private Christian organization for children.
    – Meetings would take place weekly after school.
    – The proposed meeting would include singing songs, hearing bible lessons, memorizing scripture and praying which is equivalent of religious worship prohibited by the community use policy.
    – Milford denied the request.
    – The club filed a suit under the 1st and 14th Amendments.
    – the Club’s was “quintessentially religious”, and the activities “fall outside the bounds of pure ‘moral and character development, “Milford’s policy of excluding the Club’s meetings was constitutional subject discrimination, not unconstitutional viewpoint discrimination.

    Team 4
    354
    Reply
    Katherine Stryker
    Katherine StrykerSep 23, 2015
    I absolutely agree with the supreme court ruling on this case. Allowing the private christian club to use their facilities does not promote or establish Christianity as a religion. This group was going to meet after school hours, is not affiliated with the school in any way, and was completely non curricular. The school denying the group to hold after school meetings purely on the grounds that it is a religious group, is indeed violating the free speech clause.

    Katherine Stryker Team 4
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    Comments above copied from original document
    Deleted user
    Deleted userSep 23, 2015
    In regards to the question of coercion, the Court argued “Any bystander could conceivably be aware of the school’s use policy and its exclusion of the Good News Club, and could suffer as much from viewpoint discrimination as elementary school children could suffer from perceived endorsement”.

    I slightly disagree with this claim. Yes, Good News Club’s inclusion or exclusion could be conceived as endorsement or viewpoint discrimination, but the amount of energy it takes one to get to those conceived conclusions are not equal.

    – Joe Anderson – Team 4
    Reply
    Kevin Lyles
    Kevin Lyles
    not sure I understand?
    Sep 23, 2015•Edit•Delete
    Kevin Lyles
    Kevin Lyles
    I read it again, got it
    Sep 23, 2015•Edit•Delete
    Comments above copied from original document
    Kevin Lyles
    Deleted user
    Deleted userSep 23, 2015
    In this case, the concept of “a limited open forum” from Westside v. Mergens is of importance. As Milford had not restricted its facilities usage to curriculum-related clubs, the school was unable to claim it had a closed forum which could have acted as a legitimate claim of denial under the ruling in Mergens.

    Thomas Delregno – Team 4
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    Comments above copied from original document
    Deleted user
    Deleted userSep 23, 2015
    In a 6-3 decision the the Supreme Court ruled that the decision by Milford Central school violated the establishment clause and furthermore “restricted” the free speech rights of the Good News Club. In this case we see a public school restricting the rights of a religious entity to hold after school meeting for children. The issue therein lies the fact that the school is discriminating against the Club solely on the basis of it being religious. The case was not decided solely on the basis of the establishment clause or but also according to Justice Clarence Thomas it “discriminated against the Club because of its religious viewpoint in violation of the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment.”
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    Comments above copied from original document
    Deleted user
    Deleted userSep 23, 2015
    Good News Club v Milford Central High School (2001)

    Facts:

    – Milford Central School in New York allows district residents to use the facility after school for various clubs and activities, such as “instruction in education, learning, or the arts, and social, civic, recreational, and entertainment uses pertaining to the community welfare”.
    – Stephen and Darleen Fournier requested to be able to hold meetings for the Good News Club, a private Christian organization intended for children aged 6 – 12 years old during non-school hours
    – Their intended purpose of the club was to have “a fun time of singing songs, hearing a Bible lesson and memorizing scripture”
    – Their proposal was denied, due to the nature of the clubs [intended] activities, which, according to Milford, were deemed to essentially be religious worship.
    – As such, the Fournier’s filed suit claiming that by denying them the freedom to hold such club meetings after school, that it violated their first amendment right for freedom of speech as well as, their right to religious freedom.

    Questions:

    Did Milford Central School violate the first amendment right to free speech of the Good News Club when it denied the club from meeting after hours at the school? If so, was it due to Milford’s concern for violating the Establishment Clause?

    Ruling:

    Yes and no.

    Reasoning:

    – “An elementary school could not deny the use of its facilities after school to religious groups”
    – Denying the Good News Club access to the facilities for after school use on the basis of the clubs religious nature violated the Free Speech Clause in the First Amendment.
    – The fear of violating the Establishment Clause does not justify that.

    Ashley Clary, Team 4
    Reply
    Comments above copied from original document
    Maria E
    Maria ESep 23, 2015
    Milford Central school had every right to deny the religious group a space to practice there beliefs. If they didn’t want them there then, there is nothing wrong with that. Though it would have been courteous to allow the group to practice their beliefs considering that it would be after school and not practices solely during school hours, it was an option they choose not to take.
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    Kevin Lyles
    Kevin Lyles
    courteous vs. constitutional?
    Sep 23, 2015•Edit•Delete
    Maria E
    Maria E
    Look, I’m just saying that they had every right to say no to the religious group’s request.
    Sep 23, 2015•Delete
    Kevin Lyles
    Kevin Lyles
    “every right” specifically, what is that right? where is that right?
    Sep 23, 2015•Edit•Delete
    Maria E
    Maria EMarked as resolved
    Sep 23, 2015
    Maria E
    Maria ERe-opened
    The equal protection clause ? I don’t understand why the 14th amendment would protect the rights of the club but not those affiliated with a religious party. Would the equal protection clause not also protect the rights of those who did not want to affiliate their school with the religious group?
    Sep 23, 2015
    Comments above copied from original document
    Kevin Lyles
    Deleted user
    Deleted userSep 24, 2014
    Religious practice shouldn’t be involved in a public school. Violation of the Establishment Clause.
    Lucas Woody Stanfield
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    Deleted user
    Deleted userSep 24, 2014
    I do not know what to say except, I think that this is a classic case of a non avoidable mix of religion and government like many of the other cases.
    -Matthew j Payauys
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    Deleted user
    Deleted user
    You’re right. Any time you mix public school and any type of religious activity someone is going to get upset and it’s hard to draw a line between what is acceptable and what is not.
    -Egle Sideikyte
    Sep 24, 2014 (edited Sep 24, 2014)•Delete
    Comments above copied from original document
    Kevin Lyles
    Deleted user
    Deleted userSep 24, 2014
    Exactly, if the school allows them to knowingly perform religious instruction in the school that school would become a church wouldn’t it? i agree with Scalia that it wasn’t coercive, but I feel that religion is supported if you allow them to use government regulated and funded schools as a place of worship. -d. Mortimer
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    Deleted user
    Deleted userSep 24, 2014

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