Good News Club v. Milford Central School

533 U.S. 98 (2001)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

State law allows local school boards to open their schools to public use. D enacted a community use policy. Residents may use the school for 'instruction in any branch of education, learning or the arts.' The school is also available for 'social, civic and recreational meetings and entertainment events, and other uses pertaining to the welfare of the community provided that such uses shall be nonexclusive and shall be opened to the general public.' P is a private Christian organization for children ages 6 to 12. P submitted a request to hold its weekly after-school meetings in the school cafeteria. D denied the request on the ground that the proposed use--to have 'a fun time of singing songs, hearing a Bible lesson and memorizing scripture, the equivalent of religious worship.' P wanted to engage in religious instruction itself. P sued D alleged that D's denial of its application violated its free speech rights under the First and Fourteenth Amendments, its right to equal protection under the Fourteenth Amendment, and its right to religious freedom. P was granted a preliminary injunction. That was eventually vacated, and D's motion for summary judgment was granted. Because D had not permitted other groups that provided religious instruction to use its limited public forum, the court held that D could deny access to P without engaging in unconstitutional viewpoint discrimination. The Second Circuit affirmed. D's policy of excluding P's meetings was constitutional subject discrimination, not unconstitutional viewpoint discrimination. There is a conflict among the Courts of Appeals on the question whether speech can be excluded from a limited public forum on the basis of the religious nature of the speech. The Supreme Court granted certiorari.