EQUALITY IN THE COURTS: Supreme Court Denies Hearing to High School Christian Group

In this blog series, HRC attorneys discuss news and break down legal theories relevant to a U.S. Supreme Court nomination and the recent retirement of Justice David Souter.

On Monday, June 29, the Supreme Court declined to hear the appeal of a group of high school students who claimed their free speech rights were violated when a school district refused to give official recognition to their Christian student organization.  The group, Truth, required its voting members and officers to sign a “statement of faith” affirming their belief in the Bible and their “acceptance of Jesus Christ” as their “personal Savior.”  Kentridge High School argued that granting the group official recognition would violate the district’s policy prohibiting, among other things, discrimination on the basis of creed.

In 2008, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit rejected the students’ First Amendment claim, holding that the school district’s non-discrimination policy was content-neutral.  This means that the policy properly applied to all speech, regardless of subject matter.

The Seventh Circuit has taken a different approach.  In Christian Legal Society v. Walker, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit prevented a state law school from revoking the official status of a Christian student group even though the group refused to allow gays and lesbians from becoming voting members or officers.  Although the Supreme Court often agrees to hear cases to resolve disagreements like these among federal appellate courts, it has declined to do so with Truth v. Kent School District. 

The Truth plaintiffs may still pursue the question of whether the school district discriminated against them by selectively applying its non-discrimination policy and granting waivers from the policy to at least two other student groups.  In 2008, the Ninth Circuit sent this question back to the trial court for further investigation.

Learn more about federal judicial nominations and follow our work on these crucial issues on HRC’s Equality in the Courts page.

Contributed by Emily Ames, Summer 2009 McCleary Law Fellow