Ruling Denies Equal Access

* Re “Student’s Suit Over Bible Club Ban Reinstated,” March 2:

The 4th District Court of Appeal decision to overturn the lower court’s ruling, and allow the lawsuit by the Fellowship of Christian Athletes against the Saddleback Valley Unified School District to proceed, conveniently overlooks the applicability of the equal access laws in the real world.

If the organization is allowed to have meetings on the Mission Viejo High School campus, the provisions of the same Equal Access Act demand that the school accommodate requests for similar clubs with different religious orientations. However, regardless of the theoretical legal requirements, no school in the country is in a position to accommodate such requests, as formation of student clubs requires a faculty sponsor. Of course, a math or a biology teacher can sponsor any club regardless of their areas of expertise, but will a Christian teacher qualify or agree to sponsor Muslim or Hindu clubs?

Will the court mandate school districts to have faculty members of all faiths or, even worse, force teachers to sponsor clubs with religious orientations different from theirs? And if not, wouldn’t that amount to discrimination against the students of those faiths?

Putting any public school in the predicament of regulating issues associated with such generalities will cross the line. The court’s ruling has already blurred the line between the church and state, and I can only hope that the California or the U.S. Supreme Court acts more wisely.

HAMID BAHADORI

Mission Viejo