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Christian Teachers Group Denied Standing To Challenge School Consent Decree

By Howard M. Friedman

In Minor Doe I v. School Board for Santa Rosa County, Florida, (ND FL, Feb. 19, 2010), a Florida federal district court rejected an attempt by the Christian Educators Association International to intervene to seek a modification of a consent decree under which the Santa Rosa County school board was enjoined from various activities that promoted religion in school classrooms and at school events. CEAI claimed that its members' religious speech was chilled by the consent decree. In an earlier ruling the court held that CEAI lacked standing to seek to totally vacate the decree. Now the court concludes that CEAI lacks standing to intervene to modify the decree because the fears of restrictions on their speech that CEAI members allege are not objectively reasonable.

The court found that it is objectively unreasonable for CEAI members to believe that the language of the decree requires them to refrain from all religious speech in any context at school or at informal gatherings such as retirement parties, or to believe they cannot have small personal religious items in their personal area or a drawer or cannot attend a baccalaureate service in their personal capacity. It is also unreasonable for them to believe the consent decree requires them to exclude all reference to religion from personal conversation with colleagues or parents or to censor students' creative work. The court found alternatively that CEAI lacks organizational standing since any speech rights that are chilled depend on highly individualized facts that are not common to all of CEAI's members. Finally, the court concluded that the motion to intervene was not timely.

The ACLU of Florida issued a press release announcing the decision. Liberty Counsel also issued a press release saying that it will now file a direct lawsuit against the school district to attempt to get the consent order overturned. It characterized the court's ruling as one that "has elevated this case to nuclear war." Today's Pensacola (FL) News-Journal also reports on the decision.

Full post as published by Religion Clause on February 20, 2010 (boomark / email).