Vermont high school: Student-led Christian club not welcome on campus

BURLINGTON, Vt. — Attorneys with the Alliance Defense Fund filed a lawsuit against a Vermont school district Tuesday after officials denied official recognition to a student-run Christian club.  Middlebury Union High School officials currently recognize other student clubs focusing on non-curriculum-related issues.

“Christian students are not second class; they do not lose their constitutional rights at the schoolhouse gate,” said ADF Senior Legal Counsel David Cortman.  “Granting official recognition to other non-curriculum related student clubs while denying this one solely on the basis of religion is a violation of the Equal Access Act and the First Amendment.”

In July, a student who attends Middlebury Union High School submitted a written request for official recognition of “Youth Alive,” a student-run, Christian-based club the student wanted to launch.  Because of the religious nature of the club, school officials denied the student’s request.  The district currently recognizes a number of non-curriculum related clubs, including the Gay/Straight Organization, the Arabic Club, the Outing Club, and the Student Coalition on Human Rights.

In previous years, school officials have repeatedly denied requests by students to start a “Youth Alive” club due to its religious nature.

“School officials in this case acted illegally when they made an arbitrary decision to silence a student based on her religious beliefs,” Cortman explained. “The ‘Youth Alive’ club is purely voluntary and does not meet during instructional time.  Further, school officials cannot deny the equal access rights of one group while throwing open the door for other kinds of clubs.”

ADF is a legal alliance of Christian attorneys and like-minded organizations defending the right of people to freely live out their faith. Launched in 1994, ADF employs a unique combination of strategy, training, funding, and litigation to protect and preserve religious liberty, the sanctity of life, marriage, and the family.