Atheist complaint forces Florida elementary school to shut down Christian club
A rural Florida elementary school has reportedly disbanded a new student-led Christian club on campus after receiving a legal complaint from an atheist group which called the religious meeting unconstitutional.
The Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) wrote a letter to Hamilton County Schools after discovering students at the district's only elementary school had started hosting a chapter meeting for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) in January.
In the letter, first picked up by The Tallahassee Democrat, FFRF referenced a January 27 Facebook post by the North Central Florida FCA showing students at Hamilton County Elementary School appearing to gather for a club meeting in a classroom. The letter also referenced a statement from the district’s assistant superintendent to FFRF, saying the Christian club is an official "student-led" organization at Hamilton Elementary.
The atheist group claimed these meetings violated the Constitution and demanded the district immediately investigate and ensure that the club is disbanded.
"Elementary students are too young to truly run a club entirely on their own initiative with no input from school staff or outside adults," a legal fellow for the FFRF wrote in the letter. "The Establishment Clause prohibits school employees from organizing or leading a religious club for students and therefore prohibits religious clubs in elementary schools."
Hamilton County Schools acknowledged receiving FFRF's complaint, according to a second letter posted by the group that relayed the Christian club had been disbanded.
"The District has investigated the allegations of your letter and concluded that there was a small group of fifth grade students participating in such a club at the school," the April 22 letter reads. "While these same students will be eligible to participate in FCA on the campus of Hamilton County High School in a few short months as six graders, in an effort to avoid any perception that such a gathering on the campus of Hamilton Elementary is being organized, promoted or endorsed by the District or its employees, the club has been dispersed."
The FFRF celebrated the district's decision in a press release.
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"Students have the First Amendment right to be free from religious indoctrination in their public schools. While the Equal Access Act protects students’ right to form religious clubs in secondary schools, it does not apply to elementary schools," a legal fellow for the FFRF wrote.
FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor also scolded the school for allowing students to be "indoctrinated" by religion.
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"The Hamilton County School District ought to know better than allowing a religious group free access to students during the day," Gaylor added in the release. "School districts exist to educate, not indoctrinate into religion."
Hamilton County Elementary School, Hamilton County Schools and North Central Florida Fellowship of Christian Athletes did not respond to requests for comment by the time of publication.
On its website, the FCA defended the legal right of older students to hold campus meetings.
"FCA has the legal right to meet on high school and college campuses across the country where other student-led groups meet as well. Students have religious rights to FCA meetings on many campuses around the country," the group states while providing a toolkit for students.