Cleveland schools sued over charging fees for religious clubs

Mat Staver of Liberty Counsel says the organization has filed a lawsuit on behalf of Child Evangelism Fellowship and its Good News Club that operates in the Cleveland Metropolitan School District.

The school principal at Cranford Elementary is charging the Good News Club $69.50 a month for use of its facility, Liberty Counsel claims in its lawsuit. The club did not pay a fee during the 2011-2012 school year but was charged during the 2012-2013 year. “And consequently in 2012 the club had to close because they couldn’t afford this fee,” says Staver, who calls the charge a “discriminatory fee” because it was not charged to other organizations.

Staver is confident that Liberty Counsel will win this case because of a perfect track record in defending CEF clubs. “We’ve never ultimately lost a Good News Club case when it’s gone into litigation,” says Staver. Cases lost at the local level were overturned during appeals, he says. Child Evangelism Fellowship has been providing religious and moral education to children for 70 years.