Recently, a fifth-grade girl in Washington had her request denied to start an interfaith prayer club in her elementary school, where students could join together in worship. However, the school happily approved an LGBTQ Pride club just one week before.
Eleven-year-old Laura, a Creekside Elementary student, appeared on Fox News’ “Fox News @ Night,” where she discussed the situation. The fifth grader noted that after feeling alone in her school, she decided to take the initiative with friends and start the club. Laura proposed that the club would be an excellent mechanism to bring people together and strengthen the community.
“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 told Fox News. The interfaith club would have been open to all students regardless of religious beliefs.
Following the denial of Laura’s club, First Liberty Institute, a nonprofit Christian legal organization representing her, wrote a letter to the Issaquah School District officials regarding the matter. The nonprofit argued that refusing to allow the club violated the Constitutional rights granted to the students.
“First Liberty Institute sent a letter to officials with the Issaquah (WA) School District on behalf of two elementary school students, Laura and J.W., and their parents, demanding the students be allowed to start an interfaith prayer club at school. The school actively promotes more than a dozen non-religious clubs, including a Pride Club and the Green Team,” according to a statement from First Liberty.
“Denying the formation of a religious student club while allowing other clubs violates the Constitution,” stated Kayla Toney, associate counsel at First Liberty Institute. “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.”
The legal group further stressed religious expression is protected under the First Amendment. “The Court in Kennedy explained that… the First Amendment ‘doubly protects religious speech.’ These First Amendment protections extend to elementary school students expressing their sincere religious beliefs through voluntary club. Yet the school district flouted its First Amendment obligations when they refused to allow a student-led interfaith prayer club. Its unlawful action violates both the Free Exercise Clause and the Free Speech Clause,” the letter from First Liberty added.
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First Liberty concluded its letter to the school district by stressing that appropriate legal action would be taken if the interfaith club is not permitted to organize at Creekside Elementary School. “This is a time-sensitive matter. No later than April 22, 2024, please provide your written assurances that the Issaquah School District and Creekside Elementary School will approve our clients’ request to start a prayer club and permit the club to begin meeting no later than April 29, 2024. If we do not hear from you and receive those assurances by that time, we will proceed as our clients direct, likely pursuing all available
legal remedies,” the letter wrote.