Georgia school district must reinstate Christian program for now, court rules

A federal court in the Southern District of Georgia recently ruled that a Georgia school district must bring back an optional Christian education program while its director’s lawsuit against the district continues. Pastor and teacher Gady Youmans sued the Vidalia, Ga., school board in May after it canceled public schools’ participation in his Bible, finance, and religion classes. He argued that the reasons given for the cancellation violated his rights to free speech and free exercise of religion.

The federal court agreed with Youmans’ arguments that the classes should be reinstated to prevent irreparable harm to his First Amendment rights during the long litigation process. His case also seemed likely to succeed in court, the judge said. The order came just ahead of Vidalia High School’s first day of school on Aug. 4, allowing students to participate in his classes for now, according to court documents.

What’s the background of the case? Youmans’ classes were part of Vidalia High School’s released-time program, under which students could opt to take the off-campus classes for free during school hours. He taught about 20 students per semester for about a decade until February, when school officials canceled his eligibility for the program.

They based the decision on several of Youmans’ social media posts from 2025, in which he criticized a local tax increase for school funding and said some teachers weren’t truly educating their students, according to court documents. School officials also said the decision was a reaction to some parents who pulled their children from his classes due to disagreements with the material. But Youmans argued that only one child had ever been withdrawn.

Dig deeper: Read my earlier report on the lawsuit for more details.