CHRISTIAN POST/ Michael Gryboski-
A Tennessee school district will pay nearly $15,000 in legal fees as part of a settlement reached in response to its decision to ban an After School Satan Club from offering its program to elementary school students.
In response to Good News Clubs being allowed at various public elementary schools, The Satanic Temple launched several ASSC chapters to meet at the same campuses.
The Freedom From Religion Foundation announced last week that it had reached a settlement with the Shelby County Board of Education for banning an After School Satan Club chapter.
The board will pay $14,845 in attorneys’ fees and related expenses, as well as $1 for nominal damages to The Satanic Temple and $196.71 for various fees previously paid by the group tied to rental reservations that were not yet refunded, according to the FFRF.
“We’re glad the district has mutually resolved this case and agreed to treat The Satanic Temple’s club fairly going forward,” said Patrick Elliott, FFRF’s legal director, as quoted in the announcement.
“This settlement should send a message to public schools that the First Amendment applies to all organizations, including minority groups.”
Last year, The Satanic Temple announced plans to launch an After School Satan Club chapter at Chimneyrock Elementary School, in part because the school had a Good News Club that met on campus.
The Salem, Massachusetts-based group claims to be comprised of religious skeptics and nontheists who believe in a strict separation of church and state, and oppose religious expression on government property. Continue reading…
