An Illinois school district will pay over $100,000 after reversing restrictions against a Christian afterschool program. The Moline-Coal Valley School District had been accused by Good News Clubs, which are overseen by the Child Evangelism Fund (CEF), of enacting policies that had granted the club unequal access to school facilities compared to other similar clubs. Good News Clubs is an afterschool program that shares the Gospel and other Bible stories with students. A 2001 Supreme Court ruling found that such clubs could not be prohibited from school property after normal school hours.

From 2017 to 2020, the district had permitted CEF to host the clubs on school property at no cost. However, after 2020 the district reclassified the program as a “Category II” church-affiliated group and began to set restrictions on the clubs, requiring a rental fee for facility use and prohibiting the clubs from having flyers distributed at school to promote the club or to attend the district’s “Backpack Nights” while similar organizations like the Boy Scouts remained Category I groups and were given free access to facilities. District Superintendent, Dr. Rachel Savage, would not accept legal materials outlining CEF’s rights and refused to use her discretion to waive the fees despite board policies allowing her to do so. The district also did not provide a proper reason for the club being reclassified.

CEF sought legal help from Liberty Counsel, which sued the district in February alleging discrimination. CEF and the district then reached a settlement where the district agreed to pay $105,351.25 in attorney fees, costs, and damages. As part of the settlement, the district agreed to change its policies to permit Good News Clubs to have the same access to school facilities as the other afterschool nonreligious clubs. Liberty Counsel Founder and Chairman Mat Staver celebrated the settlement. “This is a reasonable judgment and great victory for Child Evangelism Fellowship, parents, and students in the Moline-Coal Valley School District,” he said, adding that the First Amendment “prohibits public schools from discriminating against Christian viewpoints regarding use of school facilities.” He also commended CEF’s program and focus on moral and character development, concluding, “Good News Clubs should be in every public elementary school and that includes these Moline schools.”