The Fellowship of Christian Athletes is taking a New Jersey school district to court for barring outside adult volunteer mentors after a complaint from an out-of-state atheist legal organization.
Filed Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, the lawsuit alleges that the Hopewell Valley Regional School District engaged in religious discrimination against the FCA.
Defendants named in the complaint include the school district board of education, Superintendent Rosetta Treece, Interim Executive County Superintendent of Mercer County for the New Jersey Department of Education Daryl Minus-Vincent, and New Jersey Department of Education Commissioner Lily Laux.
According to the lawsuit, student-led FCA chapters at Timberlane Middle School and Hopewell Valley Central High School occasionally invited local FCA adult staff to meetings to do things like “help support and mentor students, answer questions, assist in leadership development — and generally bring the pizza.”
In March 2024, however, the Wisconsin-based Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) contacted the school district to demand that they “investigate and ensure that outside adults are not permitted to regularly lead, attend, or participate in student religious clubs.”
Days after FFRF reached out to the school district, Hopewell Valley officials agreed and enacted a new policy prohibiting outside adults from participating in FCA meetings.
According to a statement from FFRF last year, attorney Paul H. Green told the advocacy group that the district had conducted an investigation into the issue.
“Dr. Treece is directing the Timberlane Middle School Principal to immediately stop the direct involvement of any outside adults in the meetings of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and to ensure that the group’s activities comply with the requirements of the Equal Access Act, the First Amendment and relevant provisions of New Jersey law,” wrote Green last year.
FFRF Staff Attorney Madeline Ziegler had written that public school officials “cannot constitutionally allow religious organizations to treat schools as a recruiting ground for their religious mission.”
The complaint argues that the rule discriminates against religious clubs, including the FCA, alleging that the policy does not apply to nonreligious student organizations.
“The District expressly permits adult visitors on its campuses for a variety of different reasons. And other non-religious student groups are allowed to — and regularly do — take advantage of this permission as a matter of course,” stated the lawsuit.
“For example, the high-school Robotics Club actively solicits outside visitors to serve as adult mentors, not only to help kids build robots but also to manage the club’s operations. The Youth Environmental Society invites outside guests to present at their ‘Lunch and Learn’ programs.”
Joseph Davis, senior counsel at the religious liberty law firm Becket and lead attorney for FCA, denounced the school district’s decision to bar outside volunteer mentors for all religious clubs.
“An atheist advocacy group didn’t like that Christian kids were choosing to learn about faith, life, and sports from trusted mentors,” said Davis in a statement Wednesday.
“And after years of a great relationship with FCA clubs, the school district regrettably gave the advocacy group its way. Fortunately, the Constitution forbids religious discrimination. We’re confident the court will restore equal access for all student groups.”
