9th Circuit may reexamine school district's prohibition of Christian club

9th Circuit may reexamine school district's prohibition of Christian club

Attorneys for two former high school students in Washington state are asking for a full federal court of appeals panel to hear their case, which protests Truth Bible Club's exclusion from campus recognition and privileges that are given to other student clubs at the school.

From 2001 to 2003, Sarice Undis and Julianne Stewart were not allowed to form the club while waiting for officials at Kentridge High School to approve their application. Ultimately the application was rejected because of the school's "non-discrimination" policy, which does not allow the clubs to require that members "grow in a relationship with Jesus Christ."

A three-judge panel of the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled last month that both the school and Kent School District were allowed to enforce the policy. In response, Alliance Defense Fund attorneys for Undis and Stewart last week petitioned for a rehearing en banc -- with all nine justices.

Attorneys for the students say they will continue to argue that the club recognition denial is a violation of the federal Equal Access Act and the First Amendment.