A federal judge has ordered the Oakland Unified School District to grant Good News Clubs equal access to school facilities as other after-school programs.
U.S. District Judge Haywood S. Gilliam Jr. issued a preliminary injunction, prompted by a lawsuit from Liberty Counsel representing Child Evangelism Fellowship’s (CEF) NorCal East Bay, requiring the district to allow Good News Clubs to meet on the same terms as nonreligious groups.
The suit, filed in December 2024, followed the district’s rejection of club applications at four campuses. Judge Gilliam ruled that the district’s actions violated free speech protections, rejecting claims that allowing the clubs would breach the Establishment Clause.
Liberty Counsel, a religious liberty law firm, had filed a brief on behalf of CEF against the Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) and Superintendent Kyla Johnson-Trammell. Liberty Counsel says it will now seek a permanent injunction to guarantee Good News Clubs continue to receive the same access afforded other similar clubs.
According to the lawsuit, CEF applied for access on four different campuses over a two-year period but was denied on “religious grounds, pretextual schemes, and even by silence,” according to a Liberty Counsel news release. The district judge’s written opinion noted that one elementary school principal defended his opposition to CEF by stating, “[As] a public school, we are not in support of evangelism on our campus.”
In his ruling, Judge Gilliam cited a 2001 Supreme Court decision Good News Club v. Milford Central School affirming that schools cannot exclude religious clubs if secular groups have access. The ruling ensures Good News Clubs can hold weekly meetings like other programs.
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