Education & Campus Ministry - Christian Legal Society

Education is at the intersection of law, politics, and religion.

Educational institutions infringe on students’ basic rights and often target religious groups or religious students. The Center has been representing or advocating for students, from kindergarten to college, for 50 years. The Center continues to be on the front lines of defending the First Amendment rights of all religious students from their right to gather and choose leaders to just living out their faith in the public square of their campuses.

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Public Education

The Center was founded in 1975 to protect the right of students to initiate student-led Bible studies at public high schools. Eventually, the Center helped secure the right of all students at public educational institutions—whether elementary schools, high schools, or colleges and universities—to meet for prayer, Bible study, worship, and other religious speech on campus.

The Center has also worked to protect the access of religious community groups to public school facilities on the same basis as other community groups. It is of vital importance that parents, students, and teachers understand the rules for religious gatherings, religious expression, and religious materials on the public-school campus outside of instructional time.

Elementary Schools
Secondary Schools
College and University Campuses

Group Of High School Students Wearing Uniform Arriving At School Walking Or Riding Bikes Being Greeted By Teacher

Elementary Schools

Religious community groups have a free speech right to conduct after-school programs for elementary-aged students on the same basis as other community groups, like Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, are allowed to meet. The Center has represented community groups in many precedent-setting cases in the elementary school context. For example, in Culbertson v. Oakridge School District, 258 F.3d 1060 (9th Cir. 2001), the Center secured equal access to elementary schools in Oakridge, Oregon, for Child Evangelism Fellowship Good News Clubs. The Center represented Child Evangelism Fellowship (CEF) in several cases where the Center helped CEF win the right for religious community groups to distribute fliers on the basis as non-religious community groups: Child Evangelism Fellowship of New Jersey v. Stafford Township School District, 386 F.3d 514 (3d Cir. 2004), aff’g, 233 F. Supp.2d 647 (D.N.J. 2002); Child Evangelism Fellowship of Maryland v. Montgomery County Public Schools, 373 F.3d 589 (4th Cir. 2004); and Child Evangelism Fellowship of Maryland v. Montgomery County Public Schools, 457 F.3d 376 (4th Cir. 2006).

The Center filed amicus briefs with the U.S. Supreme Court in a case that, in 2025, secured the right for parents to be notified of objectionable curriculum and to opt out their primary school children from it after a school district in Maryland incorporated over 20 LGBTQ+ books into its English curriculum for its pre-K through eighth grade classrooms and refused to give religious parents an opt-out option. In Mahmoud v. Taylor, 606 U.S. __, 145 S. Ct. 2332 (2025), the Court held that parents’ free exercise rights are burdened when books in the curriculum actively promote values contrary to the parents’ religious beliefs and pose “a very real threat of undermining the religious beliefs and practices that the parents wish to instill.” The Court noted that “the religious development of children” is seen by many faiths as a “sacred obligation” that the government should not seek to disrupt. It then focuses on the parental perspectives stating that “freedom of conscience” must be protected from “coercive power.” It is important to note that Mahmoud does not give parents the right to change the lessons and books used at school but does give parents the right to be notified in advance that the lessons and books would be used in their child’s class and to choose to have their children temporarily removed from those classes.

Culbertson v. Oakridge School District:

The Center secured equal access to elementary schools in Oakridge, Oregon, for Child Evangelism Fellowship Good News Clubs. The clubs meet after school with elementary-aged children who have parental permission to attend. The children hear Bible stories, sing songs, play games, and learn that God loves them.

Citation: Culbertson v. Oakridge School District, 258 F.3d 1060 (9th Cir. 2001)

Good News Club v. Milford Central School:

The Supreme Court ruled that a Good News Club must be allowed to meet after school with elementary students. The Center filed an amicus brief in support of the students.

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

Christian Evangelism Fellowship of Montgomery County v. Montgomery County Public Schools II:

A public school district adopted a new policy and continued to refuse to distribute fliers to parents about a religious after-school program that taught children about God, even though fliers for nonreligious community groups frequently were sent home to parents. The Center sued on behalf of Child Evangelism Fellowship and won a ruling in the Fourth Circuit that the new policy violated the Free Speech Clause.

Citation: Child Evangelism Fellowship of Maryland v. Montgomery County Public Schools, 457 F.3d 376 (4th Cir. 2006).

Child Evangelism Fellowship of New Jersey v. Stafford Township School District:

A public school district refused to distribute fliers to parents about a religious after-school program that taught children about God, even though fliers for nonreligious community groups frequently were sent home to parents. The Center sued on behalf of the Child Evangelism Fellowship chapter and won.

Citation: Child Evangelism Fellowship of New Jersey v. Stafford Township School District, 386 F.3d 514 (3d Cir. 2004), aff’g, 233 F. Supp.2d 647 (D.N.J. 2002).

Christian Evangelism Fellowship of Montgomery County v. Montgomery County Public Schools I:

Citation: Child Evangelism Fellowship of Maryland v. Montgomery County Public Schools, 373 F.3d 589 (4th Cir. 2004).

Secondary Schools

The Center also has worked to enable religious student groups to meet in public secondary schools. In Bender v. Williamsport Area School District, 475 U.S. 534 (1986), vacating on jurisdictional grounds, 741 F.2d 538 (3d Cir. 1984), rev’g 563 F. Supp. 697 (M.D. Pa. 1983) (ruling in favor of student group), which was the first case heard by the U.S. Supreme Court on whether religious student groups could meet in high schools for Bible study and prayer, the Center represented a group of religious students who were denied this right even though other student groups met on their high school campus. Although the Supreme Court ruled for the students only on procedural grounds and not on the merits, the case became the basis for the federal Equal Access Act, 20 U.S.C. §§ 4071-4074, and a Supreme Court victory four years later in Board of Education v. Mergens, 496 U.S. 226 (1990).

The Center was instrumental in the drafting and passage of the Equal Access Act of 1984—the federal law that protects the right of all students to meet for “religious, political, philosophical or other speech on public secondary school campuses. See 128 Cong. Rec. 11784-85 (1982) (Sen. Hatfield statement) (recognizing CLS’ role). The Act was a bipartisan effort to protect religious student groups from being excluded from high school campuses simply because they wanted to meet for religious speech, including Bible studies and prayer, when other student groups met. For over four decades, the Equal Access Act has protected the right of student religious groups to meet at their public high schools during noninstructional time.

At the same time the Center had a petition in Garnett v. Renton School District, CITE, before the Supreme Court, the Court upheld the constitutionality of the Equal Access Act in the Mergens case in which case the Center had filed an amicus brief supporting the constitutionality of the Equal Access Act.

More recently, the Center represented the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) in Fellowship of Christian Athletes v. San Jose Unified School District, 82 F.4th 664 (9th Cir. 2023) (en banc), the school district derecognized an FCA chapter. For nearly two decades, students had met at Pioneer High School in San Jose, California, as a chapter of FCA. Student leaders, but not members, were required to agree with FCA’s religious beliefs. The school determined FCA’s leadership requirement clashed with its nondiscrimination policy and revoked FCA’s recognition. The court found that the school district had violated the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment when it revoked its recognition of FCA as an approved student club and held that FCA was likely to prevail on its claims under the Free Exercise and Free Speech Clauses and the Equal Access Act.

Despite the law being clear that Christian students are entitled to require their leaders to be Christian, the Center filed an amicus brief in support of FCA when the District of Columbia school administrators discriminatorily barred FCA from high school campuses.

In Congress:

Equal Access Act of 1984 (EAA), 20 U.S.C. §§ 4071-4074 (1984):

The Center was instrumental in the drafting of the federal law that has protected the right of millions of public secondary school students to meet for prayer and Bible study for 33 years. See 128 Cong. Rec. 11784-85 (1982) (Sen. Hatfield statement) (recognizing CLS’s role). Passage of the EAA was truly a bipartisan effort. The EAA passed in the House, 337-77, and in the Senate, 88-11. House Education and Labor Committee Chairman Carl Perkins (D-KY), along with Committee ranking member Representative William Goodling (R-PA), Representative Don Bonkers, (D-WA), and Representative Trent Lott (R-MS), shepherded the Act through the House. Senator Mark Hatfield (R-OR), Senator Jeremiah Denton (R-AL), and Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT) led the bipartisan effort in the Senate, with Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA) and Senator Joe Biden (D-DE) among its Democratic supporters.

To help them understand the EAA and know how to implement it, the Center provided guidelines to 14,000 school superintendents nationwide.

In the Courts:

The Center has worked in the courts since 1975 to protect the right of religious student groups to remain on high school campuses. A small sampling of the Center’s work over four decades includes:

Equal Access Act of 1984 (EAA), 20 U.S.C. §§ 4071-4074 (1984):

To help them understand the EAA and know how to implement it, the Center provided guidelines to 14,000 school superintendents nationwide.

Bender v. Williamsport Area School District:

In the first case heard by the United States Supreme Court on whether religious student groups could meet in high schools for Bible study and prayer, the Center represented a group of religious students from Williamsport, Pennsylvania. The students were denied the right to meet for prayer and Bible study even though other student groups met on their high school campus. Although the Supreme Court ruled for the students only on procedural grounds and not on the merits, the case became the basis for the federal Equal Access Act, 20 U.S.C. §§ 4071-4074, and a Supreme Court victory four years later in Board of Education v. Mergens.

Citation: Bender v. Williamsport Area School District, 475 U.S. 534 (1986), vacating on jurisdictional grounds, 741 F.2d 538 (3d Cir. 1984), rev’g 563 F. Supp. 697 (M.D. Pa. 1983). The district court ruled in favor of the student group at 563 F. Supp. 697 (M.D. Pa. 1983) (Chief Judge William Nealon).

Board of Education v. Mergens:

At the same time that the Center had a petition in Garnett v. Renton School District before the Supreme Court, the Court upheld the constitutionality of the Equal Access Act in the Mergens case. The Center filed an amicus brief in support of the constitutionality of the Act, which is how the Court ruled.

Citation: Board of Education v. Mergens, 496 U.S. 226 (1990)

University and Graduate School Campuses

For half a century, the Center For Law & Religious Freedom has defended the right of religious students to meet on university campuses just like secular student groups. These religious groups often are the only contact that many thousands of college students will have with the claims of Christ during their university years. Without recognition, it is hard for a religious student group to exist, as it is usually required for the group to have access to a room, to media by which it can invite students, and to participate in the annual orientation fair of all student groups. The Supreme Court has held that this right to meet is protected by the First Amendment’s Free Speech clause. Yet many campus administrators or student government leaders continue to discriminate against religious student groups that require (logically) that their group leaders (but not attendees) affirm the group’s religious creed and conduct standards. This is the latest front in CLS’ long struggle for equal access for religious speech and meetings.

The Center has engaged for years with the Department of Education, seeking to establish and preserve regulatory language that protects religious student organizations’ ability to be treated fairly on public university campuses. The Center helped draft and advocated for language that was finalized in 2020. That language was threatened in 2023 when the Department of Education sought to rescind it through proposed rulemaking. The Center wrote a comprehensive letter objecting to the rescission and helped mobilize thousands of comments opposing it. The proposed rulemaking was withdrawn at the end of 2024, meaning the 2020 regulatory language protecting religious student organizations remains.

Testimony on Religious Liberty in Public Education:

On September 8, 2025, Kim Colby testified before the United States Religious Liberty Commission at its hearing on “Religious Liberty in Public Education,” discussing the advantages of religious student organizations on public campuses pointing out, in particular, the issues and hostility religious student organizations have experienced. Kim had previously submitted written testimony to the Commission. Read the testimony.

Testimony on the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights’ Report Attacking Religious Freedom:

On February 16, 2017, then Center Director Kim Colby testified before the Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice of the House Judiciary Committee at its hearing on “The State of Religious Liberty in America,” laying out the deeply troubling flaws of the USCCR’s September 2016 Report that treated religious freedom as an afterthought rather than an inalienable human right. Read the Center’s testimony and watch the hearing.

Written Statement on Campus Free Speech Issues:

On April 4, 2017, the Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice held a hearing on “First Amendment Protections on Public College and University Campuses.” The Center submitted a written statement for the hearing record that focused on numerous examples of colleges threatening religious student groups with exclusion from campus simply because they require their leaders to be religious.

Written Statement on Campus Free Speech Issues:

On March 2, 2016, the Subcommittee on Oversight of the House Committee on Ways and Means held a hearing on “Protecting the Free Exchange of Ideas on College Campuses.” The Center submitted a written statement for the hearing record that focused on numerous examples of colleges threatening religious student groups with exclusion from campus simply because they require their leaders to be religious.

Testimony on Religious Groups’ Exclusion from College Campuses:

On June 2, 2015, Center Director Kim Colby testified before the Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice of the House Judiciary Committee at its hearing on “First Amendment Protections on Public College and University Campuses.” On too many college campuses, religious student groups are being excluded because they require that their leaders agree with the groups’ religious beliefs, message, and standards of conduct. The Center’s testimony highlighted several campuses where this problem has occurred and the importance of protecting religious students’ on campuses nationwide. Read the Center’s testimony and letters from the students themselves telling their stories. Watch the hearing or peruse the Committee’s hearing report.

Testimony before the United States Commission on Civil Rights regarding Religious Freedom:

On March 22, 2013, Center Director Kim Colby testified on behalf of robust religious freedom before the United States Commission on Civil Rights at a briefing entitled “Peaceful Coexistence: Reconciling Nondiscrimination Principles with Civil Liberties.” The Commission released its briefing report in September 2016 in which a majority of the commissioners expressed opinions that, in the view of many, exhibited intolerance for religious dissenters. Two commissioners defended a robust vision of religious freedom.

Diverse faith groups protested the report’s intolerance in a letter to President Obama, Speaker Ryan, and President Pro Tem of the Senate Hatch. Read the Center’s testimony, oral statement, the Commission’s briefing report, or a short summary of the Commission’s findings and recommendations, including one commissioner’s statement. Read Center Director Kim Colby’s congressional testimony, which outlines basic flaws with the Commission’s findings and recommendations.

Religious Education

Religious schools and educational institutions have been—and still are—under tremendous societal pressure to acquiesce to changing cultural standards regarding many issues, particularly the right to hire faculty and other employees who share the religious beliefs of the institution and to require faculty and other employees to adhere to conduct standards.

Religious Released-Time Education

The Overlooked Open Door in Public Schools.

Religious released-time is a constitutionally-permissible means by which public schools release students who have parental permission to attend off-campus religious instruction. Originally published in 1982 by Christian Legal Society and written by then Center attorneys Sam Ericsson and Kim Colby, this booklet has encouraged churches and other religious groups to establish released-time programs in their communities, thereby allowing hundreds of thousands of children and teenagers to receive religious instruction during the school day.