The Satanic Temple said it plans to file a civil suit against the Northern York School District in Pennsylvania over the body’s rejection of an “After School Satan Club” that teaches “freethinking” to elementary school students.
The group’s lawyer, Mathew Kezhaya, said the school board’s decision violates the First Amendment. Specifically, the school board broke the First Amendment requirement to “considering the popularity of [the] communicative activity” when deciding applications, he said in a statement.
The Satanic Temple says on its website that its after-school clubs “do not proselytize” but teach children “freethinking.”
Mr. Kezhaya said the lawsuit could take up to 2 years to be completed and that an appeal to the Supreme Court was possible.
In 2001, the high court ruled in “Good News Club v. Milford Central School” that all religious clubs were allowed a “limited public forum” in public schools.
More than two hours of citizen comments were heard by school board officials at an April 19 meeting before the board rejected the request for a Satan Club by a parent, Samantha Groome, who said she wanted a non-religious alternative to an ongoing faith-based program, according to the York Daily Record.
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Northern York School District did not respond to a request for comment.
• Mark A. Kellner can be reached at mkellner@washingtontimes.com.
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