Religious Use of School Facilities

Questions regarding the use of the EHS Science Lecture Hall for a program sponsored by the Northwest Evangelism Institute titled "Christ Reveals Beyond 2000" have come to many board members and to the SAU office. The brochure in question that was received by many people came through the mail. In no way would we allow literature such as this to be distributed or posted in our schools. This organization fits the criteria of our building use policy and we are very conscious of being accused of discrimination if we did not allow them to use the high school. We presently allow St. Michael's Church to use the school for CCD classes and additionally Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, 4-H, etc., use our buildings along with AAU sports activities. Following is an excerpt from The American Center for Law and Justice dated August 10, 2000 titled Special Bulletin: Religious Speech in Public Schools and was addressed to school superintendent or school administrator:

Can Religious Organizations Use School Facilities After Hours?

Yes. In fact, the Santa Fe opinion cites with approval the Supreme Court decision in "Lamb's Chapel", where the Court rules that once a school district opens up its facilities to community groups, it must allow religious groups access on an equal basis. In "Lamb's Chapel", the Court held that the school district violated the First Amendment by excluding a church from renting school facilities after hours to show a film series on parenting. The Court ruled that because the school had "repeatedly been used by a wide variety of private organizations," the denial of the church use was unconstitutional. 508 U.S. at 395. The Court stated that "(t)he principle that has emerged from our cases is that the First Amendment forbids the government to regulate speech in ways that favor some viewpoints or ideas at the expense of others." id. at 394 (internal citation omitted).

If you have any questions, please contact the Superintendent's Office.