Fellowship of Christian Athletes wins again

A federal judge in Washington, D.C., on Thursday chastised administrators of the city’s Jackson-Reed High School for denying official recognition to a student Fellowship of Christian Athletes “huddle” because of its requirement that leaders sign a statement of faith.

FCA filed a lawsuit in May after the district’s largest high school refused to recognize the student group. The lack of official recognition meant FCA could meet on campus, but it had none of the benefits provided to other student organizations such as participating in the annual student club and organization fair, distributing flyers, having a listing on the Jackson-Reed website, or access to school funding.

The school approved the application for recognition that FCA submitted for the 2022-23 school year. But in September 2022, an assistant coach at Jackson-Reed messaged an FCA staff member that “there is no place for a group like FCA in a public school.” Ultimately, the coach filed a grievance with the school and, after an investigation, school officials suspended the organization.

In a 31-page ruling entered late Thursday, U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich concluded that the school discriminated against FCA by inconsistently applying its anti-discrimination policy to student groups. Friedrich, a 2017 Donald Trump appointee, wrote that administrators were wrong to refuse school benefits to the FCA group simply because it required leaders to agree with with the group’s Biblical values, including its prohibition on sexual relations outside of marriage between a man and a woman.

“Such treatment is at odds with that received by secular groups at Jackson-Reed that appear to limit membership on the basis of other protected characteristics and/or ideological alignment,” Friedrich said. She referenced other student groups that had official recognition despite requiring members to agree with specific beliefs, such as the Gender Sexuality Alliance, “a safe space for LGBTQIA+ students,” and Disability Student Alliance, described as being for “disabled students and their allies.”

Friedrich noted that the secular groups were even greater offenders of the anti-discrimination policy, as they go so far as to “limit their membership to ideologically aligned students while denying the same right to FCA with respect to its leadership.” FCA welcomes all students to be a part of the group but limits leadership positions to students whose beliefs align with that of the organization.

Thursday’s ruling echoes a federal appeals court ruling from September 2023 that involved Pioneer High School in San Jose, Calif. At Pioneer, a long-established FCA huddle ran afoul of the school district’s anti-discrimination policy. After teachers, administrators, and some students pushed the group out, the students won back the right to school recognition after a yearslong fight. Taxpayers paid dearly for the school’s discrimination. In May, the district agreed to pay nearly $5.9 million in attorneys’ fees, costs, and damages.

Yet Joseph Davis, an attorney with the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty who represented the Washington, D.C., FCA chapter, said Thursday’s ruling was unique as the first to find a violation of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act in the school context. The 1993 federal law goes beyond the First Amendment by requiring the federal government to show a compelling interest whenever its actions substantially burden religious liberty. To move forward, the government also has to demonstrate that it used the least restrictive means in burdening religious liberty.

Twenty-eight states also have laws similar to the federal law that apply to actions by state and local governments, including school districts. But neither San Jose nor the local government of the District of Columbia are among them.

Friedrich also dismissed the school’s argument that its interest in maintaining an “equitable environment free of discrimination” was compelling, noting that “the Court has no way to ‘measure’ the equity of the school environment.” As Davis summarized the court’s findings, “it’s not enough to mouth broad generalities. You’ve got to come up with an interest that really is measurable and tangible for a court to wrap its arms around.”

Finally, like the San Jose ruling, the court underscored the “narrow” holding of Christian Legal Society Chapter of the University of California v. Martinez, a 2010 Supreme Court ruling that held schools could constitutionally adopt an “all-comers” policy requiring all student groups to admit all students. “The District … at best, has an ‘accept-some-comers policy,’” Friedrich concluded, one which leaves room for some groups to limit membership on criteria not expressly prohibited.

“Anti-discrimination laws ‘have done much to secure the civil rights of all Americans,’” Friedrich concluded. “But antidiscrimination laws, like all other laws, must be applied evenhandedly and not in violation of the Constitution.”

Davis said that the ruling, while only in effect until a trial resolves the case, will allow Jackson-Reed’s FCA to gain full recognition as the school year begins in August. He said the school has 30 days to appeal the ruling.