Los Angeles School District Pivots Away from Denying Equal Treatment to Student Bible Club
A Los Angeles-area school district reportedly changed course after receiving a demand letter from Liberty Counsel advocating for equal treatment of student religious groups. the Arts and Entertainment virtual Academy, part of LA Unified, had blocked a student Bible club from promoting itself during a weekly webinar while allowing other student groups to do so.Liberty Counsel argued this was discriminatory under the First Amendment and the Equal Access Act, noting the webinar promoted the Islamic holiday Ramadan but not the Christian club.After discussions, the district’s legal office agreed to allow the club’s declaration in future meetings and webinars, and Liberty Counsel praised the reversal as compliance with equal-access requirements.
A school in Los Angeles, California, changed course on denying equal treatment to a student Bible club after a demand letter from a legal advocacy group.
Administrators of the Arts and Entertainment Virtual Academy, which is part of the Los Angeles Unified School District, had denied the “Faith and Fellowship Club” the chance to promote their organization, according to a May 1 release from Liberty Counsel.
The student-led group was barred from advertising during the school’s weekly webinar, even as other student groups were afforded that chance.
Liberty Counsel noted that the webinar had an advertisement “urging students to celebrate the Islamic holiday Ramadan.”
The demand letter from Liberty Counsel, sent on April 17 and requesting a response by April 24, contended that “this unequal treatment violates the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and the Equal Access Act.”
As a result of our demand letter, the Arts and Entertainment Virtual Academy (AEVA) in the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) is now providing equal treatment to a student-led Bible club.
Before the letter, the student-led “Faith and Fellowship Club” had been denied by… pic.twitter.com/WraB9Qxjox
— Liberty Counsel (@libertycounsel) May 1, 2026
“The exclusion of a slide announcing a Christian club… while Ramadan is promoted to students is suggestive of viewpoint discrimination,” the letter continued.
Liberty Counsel noted that the Arts and Entertainment Virtual Academy had not shown slides encouraging students to celebrate Thanksgiving and Christmas — which are federal holidays — or Christian holidays such as Easter.
The office of the general counsel for Los Angeles Unified School District responded in a letter dated April 23 that they would enable equal treatment for the Faith and Fellowship Club moving forward.
“The Faith and Fellowship Club, as the first student-led club at this school, will continue to meet, information, and operate consistent with general rules for student-led clubs,” the document said.
Calif.’s largest school district reverses course, agrees to give Christian group equal access to promotion https://t.co/ct6bKRLKki
— The Christian Post (@ChristianPost) May 5, 2026
“The principal has agreed to allow the Faith and Fellowship Club’s proposed message to be included in Monday’s Weekly Webinar.”
Liberty Counsel Chairman Mat Staver celebrated the change of course.
“We commend the Los Angeles Unified School District for ensuring equal access for the Faith and Fellowship Club at the Arts and Entertainment Virtual Academy,” he remarked.
“The First Amendment and the Equal Access Act do not allow for excluding a Christian club in a forum where other non-curricular programs and other viewpoints are permitted.”
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