Virginia student starts antiabortion club in a public high school
With prayer, persistence, and a lawsuit against Virginia’s Stafford County schools, 16-year-old Stephanie Hoffmeier recently succeeded in starting what might be the Washington, D.C. region's only antiabortion club in a public high school. The Pro-Life Club, which attracted about 20 people to its first gathering, also promotes teen sexual abstinence as well as opposing abortion. School administrators initially turned down Stephanie's request to start the club on the grounds that it was not tied to the school curriculum. She filed suit in federal court, contending that her proposal could not be denied when other clubs are allowed to form on campus. The suit put a spotlight on an often-misunderstood legal arena involving religion in public schools. Even some advocates of strict separation of church and state say religious speech by students at public school is protected under the Constitution and federal law. School officials, conceding they were wrong, officially recognized the club Oct. 24, and Stephanie dropped the suit. "When we had an opportunity to review what the circumstances were, it was apparent that [school] board policy allowed for this club," Stafford superintendent David E. Sawyer said, adding that he was not aware of the proposal until the suit. "We certainly think student organizations and clubs are important activities for youngsters," he added. "It's not an issue that we would just prohibit." Stephanie submitted the proposal for the club at the end of the last school year. In it, she described the purpose: "To educate people about the biggest holocaust that is going on right here in the United States. To come together and pray to end abortion. To be a voice for my generation and a voice for those who cannot speak for themselves." With aid from the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF), she filed suit Sept. 12, charging that her constitutional free-speech rights had been violated. "There is a discomfort with religious speech in the schools, even when it's engaged in by students, which should not be the case," said David Cortman, an ADF attorney. "Once they open up the facility to clubs, merely ... allowing a religious club in the mix does not promote religion." Ayesha N. Khan, legal director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, said there is often confusion about whether religious speech is allowed in public schools. She said there is a distinction between the private speech of students and the government speech of school employees. The federal Equal Access Act forbids schools from denying student-run clubs based on a club's religious or other perspective, she said.
Washington Post By Theresa Vargas
[Editor’s Note: For additional coverage of the EEA, and for a rare example in which a court upheld a school’s denial of recognition of a student initiated religious club, see below.]
NSBA School Law pages on EEA and Christian clubs
NSBA School Law pages on Truth v. Kent Sch. Dist.