Appeals Court: Atheists Have Legal Standing in Case Against CO School District
June 20, 2017 by Hemant Mehta

A lawsuit against a Colorado school district must be decided on its merits, according to the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals, which said today that the atheist plaintiffs had proper legal standing to pursue the case.

This all began in June of 2014, when the American Humanist Association’s Appignani Humanist Legal Center sent a letter to the Douglas County School District in Colorado detailing extensive evidence that officials at Highlands Ranch High School and Cougar Run Elementary School, in their capacities as District employees, were promoting Christianity and raising money for a Fellowship of Christian Athletes’ mission trip.



The FCA made it clear why they were going to Guatemala: “… our group’s primary goal is to share the love and hope of Jesus.”

Which is fine. They’re allowed to do that. But make no mistake: This trip, by their own admission, was about proselytizing, first and foremost.

Because this was a trip to preach the Gospel, the schools could not support or raise money for it, even if the students had a secondary, more noble, goal of handing out toiletries and hygiene bags.

That’s why this flier, which was given to all students and parents at the elementary school, was a big problem:



The AHA also pointed out that an email sent by a school official to parents urging them to donate supplies and money included a bit about how sales of the school’s news publication would go toward the trip. They also noted a blog post written by another teacher (in that capacity) writing about the purpose of the trip: “The heart of this journey is to share, celebrate, and honor Christ.”