December 7, 2003

(San Diego, CA) - The American Center for Law and Justice, an international public interest law firm, announced today that it has resolved the final issue in a two-year-old lawsuit that clears the way for a church to distribute materials inside the San Diego Unified School District. The ACLJ announced that a settlement agreement guarantees the church will no longer face discrimination and brings to an end litigation that included a finding by a federal court that the school district did engage in discrimination against the church by repeatedly refusing to permit the church to advertise seminars in the schools - seminars dealing with parenting and school violence.

"We're pleased that this case has been completely resolved and that the church will receive the same treatment afforded to other community organizations," said Stuart J. Roth, Senior Counsel of the ACLJ, which represents the church. "A federal court had already cleared the way for the church to post flyers at the schools notifying students and parents about programs beneficial to the community. The only remaining issue involved the distribution of the flyers and with this settlement agreement now in place, our client will enjoy the same constitutional protections given to other community groups. This is an important victory for the equal treatment of religious organizations."

The ACLJ filed suit in October 2001 in U.S. District Court in San Diego on behalf of Reverend James G. Jerpseth, Pastor of the Atonement Lutheran Church in San Diego. The suit contended that Rev. Jerpseth repeatedly requested permission in 2001 to post promotional materials on bulletin boards at local schools - advertising a series of seminars that were designed to combat school violence and address other issues facing parents and students. The seminars included titles like "How to Spot a Troubled Kid: Stopping the Violence" and "Be a Better Parent." The lawsuit contended that the school district rejected the requests from Rev. Jerpseth because of a policy that prohibited material containing the name of a religious organization from being posted or distributed in the school district.

A federal district court issued a decision in February 2003 and modified it in April 2003 clearing the way for the church to post its materials on school bulletin boards within the school district. The court said that such a prohibition "cannot survive constitutional scrutiny." The court, however, did not rule on the constitutionality of the portion of the school's policy that prohibited the distribution of materials.

Following dialogue with the school district, the ACLJ announced today that it has entered into a settlement agreement with school officials that clears the way for the church's materials to be distributed at the schools. The ACLJ agrees to end its litigation and filed papers with the federal district court and federal appeals court ending the district's appeal and requesting that the lawsuit be dismissed. The U.S. District Court in San Diego has approved the order dismissing the suit. The settlement agreement also calls for the school district to pay $170,000 in legal fees to the ACLJ.

The ACLJ is an international public interest law firm focusing on constitutional law. The ACLJ is based in Washington, D.C. and its web site address is www.aclj.org.