One week after her elementary school permitted an LGBT Pride club to be formed at the school, an eleven-year-old girl in Washington state says she was refused permission to start an interfaith prayer group.
Laura, a student at Creekside Elementary School, told Fox News, “I wanted to start it because I felt kind of alone in the classroom and really just at school. And I realized, I have some friends and I knew some other people that felt the same way, and so I talked to them and I was just like, ‘You know what? It would be a great idea to make a club where people could come together and do good in the community.’ That was kind of the idea of my interfaith peer club.”
First Liberty Institute (L.A.W.), which is representing Laura, reported that Laura and her mom met in February with the school’s principal, Amy Allison, who informed them that all the funding for school clubs had been allocated in October, and Laura had missed the deadline, even though the Pride Club was formed one week before and the school allows a dozen other clubs, including the Green Team and the Toastmasters Club.
“In a follow-up meeting, the principal told L.A.W. that she could fill out an application to pay to use the school after hours. When L.A.W. asked why she would have to pay like an outside group when other student clubs don’t have to pay, Principal Allison responded, ‘I am sorry, [L.], I just can’t tell you what you want to hear,’ and ‘we can’t allow it,’” First Liberty added.
“The First Amendment is clear; the free speech clause and the free exercise clause both protect Laura’s ability to pray, to speak about her faith; to gather with other religious students,” said Kayla Toney, associate counsel at First Liberty Institute. “The law is clear: if the school allows at least one non-curricular club, no matter what the club is about, it has to allow a religious club. It’s actually viewpoint discrimination to deny a religious club just because it’s religious.”
“Denying the formation of a religious student club while allowing other clubs violates the Constitution,” Toney contended. “School officials at Creekside Elementary are engaged in religious discrimination against an eleven-year-old girl who simply wants to pray, feel support from other religious friends, and do community service.”
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“I think that this is something that I am very passionate about. I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t really want to make this happen, if I didn’t think that it would be a great opportunity for everyone,” Laura concluded.