Hawaii must allow Good News Clubs at every public school

The Christian youth organization has secured the right to hold meetings on every public school campus in Hawaii as the decades-long fight to ensure equal access to school facilities for faith-based groups continues.

Good News Clubs are after-school programs that aim “to bring the Gospel of Christ to children on their level in their environment” on public school campuses.

In January, Liberty Counsel filed a lawsuit after four school districts in Hawaii prevented Good News Clubs from meeting on public school campuses. The complaint maintained that by granting comparable secular organizations access to school facilities while denying that privilege to the Good News Club, the school districts were violating the First and 14th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution. 

Five months later, Liberty Counsel obtained a preliminary injunction ruling that the Hawaii Department of Education and the six elementary schools named in the lawsuit must allow Good News Clubs to meet at school facilities just like any other club. 

Last month, a permanent injunction that is much broader in scope ensured that Good News Clubs had the right to meet at any public school campus in the state. 

Fred Pry, Acting CEF Vice President of Administration said in a statement, “This is a welcomed win not only for CEF Hawaii but for all Christian groups in the public square.”