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You can Download and print the free brochure of the information and the A.C.L.J. brochure below to help others learn what they can do.
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What School Employees, Students and Club Sponsors can do?
Kids For Christ is a religious club. Being so will require extra caution on the part of any school employee who may serve as the club overseer on behalf of the school. Our students have a right to express their religious views. Publicly funded schools cannot prohibit such activity that is the free exercise of religion under the United States Constitution. Other students have the right to not be involved in religious activity. All rights must be observed and protected by all school employees. There is a separation between church and state, secular and sacred in a public setting. This provision is in the 1st amendment of our constitution.
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;
Couple this with the first amendment's guarantee for every citizen’s freedom of speech.
"or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble,
and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."
There in the 1st amendment is the constitutional foundation all citizens have. That grants them the right to hold Christian clubs upon government school campuses. Students do not lose those rights upon attending a publicly funded, local government school.
Both congress and the courts, through case rulings, attempted to add clarity to this constitutionally legal position.
School employees, who serve the school, must maintain the rights of all students. Students and their families have the right to freely participate or abstain from religious activity. School sponsors or any school employees who coerce or discourage Student participation in the clubs violate that right. Either action would likely be considered an entanglement and breach of the 1st amendment. All school personnel must remain neutral for their employer.
Clear Rules For School Staff
The following rules from an administrative memo by Calcasieu Parish School campuses may be a useful example for other school systems.
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"As a result of this policy review, please inform your staff and public sponsor of the bulleted items and ensure the following items are not taking place.
1. Public school employees may not distribute bibles.
2. Public school employees may not wear Bible Club t-shirts on school premises during school hours.
3. Public school employees may not lead or take an active participation role in the club activities.
4. Each school that has a religious club must assign one employee to attend all club meetings to ensure school property is not damaged during this non-school sponsored club meeting. School employees must serve as “gate keepers” of the facility, not participants of the organization.
5. Public school employees may not promote the club.
6. Public school employees may not instruct club officers on how to lead club meetings.
7. Public school employees cannot promote the club’s values during those meetings, at school, or during school hours.
8. Public school employees cannot pressure students into joining any type of club."
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School Sponsors
Kids for Christ Club members should be sure to appreciate the position School Sponsors and administrators have as a employee of the school. The School Sponsor's function is the school approved overseer of the club for the protection of all students. They protect the rights, the interest and the safety of all students and the public confidence in the school to maintain a neutral environment for all public citizens. A sponsor cannot endorse the club. A sponsor must function as the liaison between the club and the school. They protect the school property, the student and the community.
Their role in protecting the school student body is essential for granting the club access to public facilities. They insure the conduct of club members. It is important for the school have accountability of the club organizer. This offers assurance to the school and its administrators that the clubs are operating within school policy and the law.
However, the school employee must not become entangled with the religious aspects of the club. Entanglement would be restricting or promoting club activities that do not breach school conduct policy. For example, the school sponsor cannot use school E-Mail service or paid time to aid or conduct club activities.
Community Volunteers
Volunteers from the public, May be invited by students to serve the students as club organizers. They should understand and encourage the students leadership. They may work with the school employed sponsor or overseer before or after their regular hours of employment. The outside community organizer should be respectful the school's volunteer staff sponsor.
General Student Body:
All students may receive an invitation to attend an organizational meeting annually at the beginning of the Club. Special meetings may be offered for interested students to attend. During this meeting the students will be informed of the nature and purpose of the club and be given parental permission slips to be returned to the school. The school will maintain these permission slips as evidence of the student’s parental consent and enrollment.
School Bookkeeping:
If the school prefers to oversee the bookkeeping of other clubs, it may also require the same from Kids for Christ Clubs. Some schools do not require nor offer this service to any of its clubs. They choose to defer to each club handling its funds. If the school does not offer club bookkeeping accounts to other clubs meeting on a school campus; then it cannot offer an account to a Kids for Christ club.
Publicity
Schools can announce times and events. School announcements are the same as all other clubs publicizing club times and events that serve the students of the school.
Club T-Shirts
Kids for Christ T-shirts may be worn by students on club days if allowed by the school. (If other clubs are allowed to wear club shirts then KFC members should also have the same privilege. Some schools require strict uniform adherence. If other clubs are not allowed to wear shirts then KFC Clubs should be under the same policy. Shirts may be worn at extra-curricular events or on days where uniforms are not required.
Student Club Rights
The public school cannot discriminate against a Christian club solely because it is religious. School employees also may not prohibit or discourage student participation in Kids for Christ Clubs. The activities and access given to other school clubs such as academic, social or athletic clubs, as well as outside community based clubs must be given fair and equal treatment by the school. It should allow all clubs that are deemed beneficial by the administrators, community & student body to be conducted equally without discrimination.
SPECIFIC LEGAL EXAMPLES:
On June 11, 2001, the U. S. Supreme Court ruled that Child Evangelism Fellowship® could have access to public school facilities to conduct Good News Clubs. The decision stated that Bible clubs such as the Good News Club must be given the same access to school facilities accorded any other non-school-related outside group.
In Good News Club v. Milford Central School District, the United States Supreme Court ruled that a public school which allows use of its facilities to secular groups may not discriminate against religious groups. The Good News Club case involved an adult-initiated and adult-led after-school religious club sponsored by Child Evangelism Fellowship. The landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision in June 2001 confirms equal access to public schools. In the decision the Court ruled:
• Free speech rights had been violated because of our religious viewpoint.
• Restrictions must not discriminate against speech based on viewpoint.
• Permitting Good News Club to meet on school premises does not violate the Establishment clause.
• The danger that children would believe the school to be endorsing religion is no greater than the danger that they would perceive hostility towards
religion if the club were excluded from this public forum. In 2010 over 133,000 school children attended an after-school Good News Club conducted in over 3,000 public schools in the United States.
The American Center for Law and Justice (A.C.L.J.) has a specific Publication that is useful for helping School administrators know what young citizens who attend public school can do.
Kids For Christ is a religious club. Being so will require extra caution on the part of any school employee who may serve as the club overseer on behalf of the school. Our students have a right to express their religious views. Publicly funded schools cannot prohibit such activity that is the free exercise of religion under the United States Constitution. Other students have the right to not be involved in religious activity. All rights must be observed and protected by all school employees. There is a separation between church and state, secular and sacred in a public setting. This provision is in the 1st amendment of our constitution.
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;
Couple this with the first amendment's guarantee for every citizen’s freedom of speech.
"or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble,
and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."
There in the 1st amendment is the constitutional foundation all citizens have. That grants them the right to hold Christian clubs upon government school campuses. Students do not lose those rights upon attending a publicly funded, local government school.
Both congress and the courts, through case rulings, attempted to add clarity to this constitutionally legal position.
School employees, who serve the school, must maintain the rights of all students. Students and their families have the right to freely participate or abstain from religious activity. School sponsors or any school employees who coerce or discourage Student participation in the clubs violate that right. Either action would likely be considered an entanglement and breach of the 1st amendment. All school personnel must remain neutral for their employer.
Clear Rules For School Staff
The following rules from an administrative memo by Calcasieu Parish School campuses may be a useful example for other school systems.
==================================================
"As a result of this policy review, please inform your staff and public sponsor of the bulleted items and ensure the following items are not taking place.
1. Public school employees may not distribute bibles.
2. Public school employees may not wear Bible Club t-shirts on school premises during school hours.
3. Public school employees may not lead or take an active participation role in the club activities.
4. Each school that has a religious club must assign one employee to attend all club meetings to ensure school property is not damaged during this non-school sponsored club meeting. School employees must serve as “gate keepers” of the facility, not participants of the organization.
5. Public school employees may not promote the club.
6. Public school employees may not instruct club officers on how to lead club meetings.
7. Public school employees cannot promote the club’s values during those meetings, at school, or during school hours.
8. Public school employees cannot pressure students into joining any type of club."
=================================================
School Sponsors
Kids for Christ Club members should be sure to appreciate the position School Sponsors and administrators have as a employee of the school. The School Sponsor's function is the school approved overseer of the club for the protection of all students. They protect the rights, the interest and the safety of all students and the public confidence in the school to maintain a neutral environment for all public citizens. A sponsor cannot endorse the club. A sponsor must function as the liaison between the club and the school. They protect the school property, the student and the community.
Their role in protecting the school student body is essential for granting the club access to public facilities. They insure the conduct of club members. It is important for the school have accountability of the club organizer. This offers assurance to the school and its administrators that the clubs are operating within school policy and the law.
However, the school employee must not become entangled with the religious aspects of the club. Entanglement would be restricting or promoting club activities that do not breach school conduct policy. For example, the school sponsor cannot use school E-Mail service or paid time to aid or conduct club activities.
Community Volunteers
Volunteers from the public, May be invited by students to serve the students as club organizers. They should understand and encourage the students leadership. They may work with the school employed sponsor or overseer before or after their regular hours of employment. The outside community organizer should be respectful the school's volunteer staff sponsor.
General Student Body:
All students may receive an invitation to attend an organizational meeting annually at the beginning of the Club. Special meetings may be offered for interested students to attend. During this meeting the students will be informed of the nature and purpose of the club and be given parental permission slips to be returned to the school. The school will maintain these permission slips as evidence of the student’s parental consent and enrollment.
School Bookkeeping:
If the school prefers to oversee the bookkeeping of other clubs, it may also require the same from Kids for Christ Clubs. Some schools do not require nor offer this service to any of its clubs. They choose to defer to each club handling its funds. If the school does not offer club bookkeeping accounts to other clubs meeting on a school campus; then it cannot offer an account to a Kids for Christ club.
Publicity
Schools can announce times and events. School announcements are the same as all other clubs publicizing club times and events that serve the students of the school.
Club T-Shirts
Kids for Christ T-shirts may be worn by students on club days if allowed by the school. (If other clubs are allowed to wear club shirts then KFC members should also have the same privilege. Some schools require strict uniform adherence. If other clubs are not allowed to wear shirts then KFC Clubs should be under the same policy. Shirts may be worn at extra-curricular events or on days where uniforms are not required.
Student Club Rights
The public school cannot discriminate against a Christian club solely because it is religious. School employees also may not prohibit or discourage student participation in Kids for Christ Clubs. The activities and access given to other school clubs such as academic, social or athletic clubs, as well as outside community based clubs must be given fair and equal treatment by the school. It should allow all clubs that are deemed beneficial by the administrators, community & student body to be conducted equally without discrimination.
- Students may request to form a Kids For Christ Club at their local school. `
- Students may wear Kids for Christ Club T-Shirts during school if students of other clubs are allowed to wear club shirts.
- Students may invite students not enrolled to join Kids for Christ during non-instructional free time.
- Students may offer Kids for Christ Club materials to non-club students.
- Students may read personal religious material and material received, through their membership, in Kids for Christ at school. This can happen during time set apart for non-curricular material during non-instructional free periods.
- Students may utilize biblical Christian resources if it fulfills the requirements for literary, historical, scientific or any other academic discipline for assignments. This includes public presentations to classmates. Faculty may not discriminate against students who choose to cite religious materials that offer facts pertaining to an assignment solely because the source may be religious.
- Students may freely discourse their personal beliefs during non-instructional free time before other students.
- Students have the right to entreat the favor of God upon their school community in an act known as public prayer.
- Students have the right to offer respect, honor to all school personnel and fellow students, and do their best to enhance the atmosphere for learning in their school through the employment of their personal faith in Jesus Christ.
SPECIFIC LEGAL EXAMPLES:
On June 11, 2001, the U. S. Supreme Court ruled that Child Evangelism Fellowship® could have access to public school facilities to conduct Good News Clubs. The decision stated that Bible clubs such as the Good News Club must be given the same access to school facilities accorded any other non-school-related outside group.
In Good News Club v. Milford Central School District, the United States Supreme Court ruled that a public school which allows use of its facilities to secular groups may not discriminate against religious groups. The Good News Club case involved an adult-initiated and adult-led after-school religious club sponsored by Child Evangelism Fellowship. The landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision in June 2001 confirms equal access to public schools. In the decision the Court ruled:
• Free speech rights had been violated because of our religious viewpoint.
• Restrictions must not discriminate against speech based on viewpoint.
• Permitting Good News Club to meet on school premises does not violate the Establishment clause.
• The danger that children would believe the school to be endorsing religion is no greater than the danger that they would perceive hostility towards
religion if the club were excluded from this public forum. In 2010 over 133,000 school children attended an after-school Good News Club conducted in over 3,000 public schools in the United States.
The American Center for Law and Justice (A.C.L.J.) has a specific Publication that is useful for helping School administrators know what young citizens who attend public school can do.