Posted at 10:50 a.m., Tuesday, June 12, 2001

Church ruling affirms state policy

By Mike Gordon
Advertiser Staff Writer

A Supreme Court ruling upholding church use of public schools affirms a long-standing state policy in Hawai'i, a Department of Education spokesman said today.

The court ruling yesterday said a Christian youth group in a New York town must be permitted to hold an after-school Bible study class in a public elementary school because the town also allowed civic and social groups to use the buildings.

"Our schools have always been open to church groups," said Greg Knudsen, spokesman for the state's Department of Education. "This doesn't seem to change anything in Hawai'i. We have permitted use of our school facilities for church services. And we do permit clubs and religious groups to meet on campuses after school hours."

Regular church use of a particular school for religious worship is limited to five years, however. Some churches have had to move, because they can't be permanently established at a school, Knudsen said.

"Many of the churches do temporarily establish in a school while they raise money for a church," he said. "But if it gets to a point where they are there indefinitely, it is a church vs. state problem."

In the New York case, the court ruled that once the Milford Central School allowed civic groups with a moral theme to meet after hours, such as the Boy Scouts, then it could not exclude the Good News Club, an evangelism organization. Excluding the club would violate First Amendment free-speech rights, the court said.