Equal Access Win in Ohio

While the law is perfectly clear that public schools must treat Christian after-school clubs in the same way they treat other after-school clubs, some schools still need to learn this lesson.

We represent Children's Outreach Ministries, an organization which runs Kids Club meetings in Toledo, Ohio and the surrounding area.  Kids Clubs are Bible-centered clubs which meet after school for one hour per week throughout the school year.  At Kids Club meetings, children hear a Bible lesson, learn a memory verse, sing songs, and are given the opportunity to receive Jesus Christ as Savior.

Recently, Children's Outreach Ministries was informed by a local school district that they had to pay an hourly rental fee for use of a school classroom.  The problem with this fee arrangement was that other after-school groups did not have to pay the same rental fee.

After writing a letter to the school district setting forth the law regarding equal access and requesting that Children's Outreach Ministries be treated equally with the scouting groups, the school district has now agreed to permit the Kids Club to meet without charge or hindrance. 

We are very pleased that the school made the right decision and that we could make a difference in this way. 

It is not just a victory for the First Amendment and the law of equal access, it is a victory for Children's Outreach Ministries and the children to whom they minister.